A Second Chance
by You Made Me Faint
Summary: UNDER CONSTRUCTION Everyone deserves a second chance, right? So, what happens when Edward and Bella get one? Not everything is at it appears, and the farther you go the more you begin to see what's real...and what's not.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Okay, no matter what you say, I'm gonna keep posting this story. You can hate me and everything and you can hate my story, but I honestly don't care, ok? All reviews are welcomed, but criticism is better. I want to know what to do to make my story even better.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. Simple enough for ya?**

**CHAPTER 1**

**May 30, 2006 (EPOV)**

Gone was what she was and numb was how I felt. No, numb wasn't the right word, I decided. It was a much worse feeling than that. It was as if I was empty. There was nothing, absolutely nothing, left for me to live for. For however long I'd been sitting in my room, I'd been struggling desperately to feel even a hint of emotion. But, no, all I felt was emptiness, for after those first few days without my precious Bella, all feeling was gone.

It had been almost two weeks since she was taken away from me, and I was trying desperately to do _something_. Both Alice and Esme were continually coming in my room to get me to do something, say something, or at least go hunting. All I would do was look out the window, ignoring them and reading their sad thoughts, making no effort to do anything. It was selfish of me to do, I know, because they were suffering, too. Alice and Emmett had lost a little sister and a best friend, Esme and Carlisle had lost a daughter, and even Rosalie and Jasper, who weren't as close to Bella had lost a friend. However, I had lost something infinitely more precious.

_Why_? That was all I wanted to know. _Why_ had we been too late to save her? _Why_ did Victoria finally get the opportunity for revenge? And the question I find myself asking most often: _Why_ did I have to survive instead of her? _Why_? _Why_? _Why_? It wasn't fair at all. None of it was. I'd lost the love of my life. The woman I'd planned to marry one day. The woman who, in a few short days, I'd planned to spend the rest of eternity with. And if I had it my way then I still would.

* * *

"_Edward, promise me that you won't go to Italy again," she had ordered. "No matter what happens, just promise me." There were tears in her eyes as I held her tight against my chest._

"_Bella, that won't even be an option. Nothing, and I repeat **nothing**, is going to happen to you."_

"_You didn't promise, Edward," she cried. "Victoria is back and coming after me and I want to know that you won't do anything stupid or try to kill yourself if anything happens to me."_

_I sighed in resignation. _

"

* * *

That had been just a few days before she died. The first mistake I'd made was promising that I wouldn't go to Italy; I wouldn't go to see the Volturi. I would honor that promise, of course. How could I not when I thought back to how adamant she was on making sure I didn't? The second mistake I'd made was letting Bella out of my sight for that seemingly meaningless minute. Nonetheless, I would find a way to be with my angel for all of eternity. There were other ways, I'm sure, to die. Even for my kind. And no matter what, I would succeed. Just as Victoria had succeeded in killing Bella.

**A/N:** Okay, don't kill me for killing Bella, okay? I know she dies in a lot of other fanfics, but I don't think this will be the same. If it is, then sorry, but I haven't read anything like it, so that's all I have to say.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Everyone probably hated the last chapter, and they'll probable hate this chapter, too. Don't worry, though, 'cause it gets a lot better. And, as always, all reviews are welcome. I'm open to suggestions and would like to know what you as the readers want to see happen so that I can make this story much different from all the others where Bella dies.

**Disclaimer:** Stephanie Meyer owns it, not me.

* * *

**CHAPTER 2**

**APOV**

I sighed into Jasper's chest. We were lying on the couch in the living room and Jasper was trying to calm me down. Nowadays, Jasper had to be at least two rooms away from Edward to stay sane. He said that the pain was just too much, and I knew what he meant. Just because I couldn't feel _exactly_ what Edward was going through, doesn't mean I couldn't see it. This was the key reason that Jasper had to calm me—my visions of Edward were getting to be too much.

The visions, no matter how seemingly different, all ended the same way; Edward always ended up dying. And most of the time it was on purpose. In one of them, he tracked down Victoria and practically begged her to kill him. In another, he started a fight with the dogs down in La Push and didn't even bother defending himself. There were so many different versions, but the same devastatingly depressing outcome.

"Jasper," I whispered, "it hurts. I can't take it anymore. I lost Bella, too-we all did. He refuses to see that, though. Doesn't he know that we can't lose him, too? God, Jasper, I just can't deal anymore. I hate this feeling!" I buried my face into his chest once again and began sobbing.

I knew it was killing him to see me like this, to feel my emotions, but I couldn't help it. Bella was my best friend and my sister. Losing her had been the hardest thing I'd ever done. After all, my vampire life hadn't been that hard, and I remembered nothing of my past life. Now, though, I was beginning to want my human life back. If I could have, I would have spent an eternity in a mental hospital just to have Bella back in our lives again.

Edward, and Bella especially, didn't deserve this cruel fate that had been laid out for them.

"Shh, Alice," Jasper soothed me. "I don't know what to tell you. The truth is that it _is_ awful. All of it is. Nothing can change that. You just have to imagine what Edward's going through. Not only is he hurt because she's…gone. He's hurt because he blames himself. He's regretting not changing her. He feels that everything is his fault. Right now, he's guilty, sad, and…suicidal even. And none of us can gaurantee that the pain will go away, but we can hope."

"But, what if it doesn't? What if he does something to himself before it does?" I looked up into his eyes and he hugged my body even tighter to him to control the dry sobs shaking my small frame. "Jasper, I don't want to watch my family fall apart. Not again. I hate these visions! I hate being able to know what's going to happen!"

Jasper ran his hands in a soothing motion through my short hair and planted kisses on my head, making sure to hold me close. I never wanted him to let go.

"Alice, don't be like that. Your visions have helped us more than anything. If it weren't for your visions, we never would have met, right?"

"I guess," I agreed, remembering the first vision I'd ever had of Jasper.

"And we never would have found our family, right?"

"Yes," I sniffled. The sobs were coming less and less frequently.

"Without your visions, Edward would be gone right now, correct?"

"Right," I nodded.

"See, Alice? Your visions have done so much for this family and more. Never regret having your ability. Even though seeing the future is hard, it's worth it in the long run. Just like being an empath."

He gave me a sad smile. It was filled with grief, guilt, and compassion.

"I love you, Jasper," I whispered.

"I love you, too, Alice. I always will. And no matter what happens, I'll always be here for you." He leaned forward and cupped my face in his hands to plant a sweet, loving kiss upon my lips.

* * *

**A/N:** Okay, so this was just a little part from Alice's perspective and how messed up she is since Bella is gone and Edward is acting all Emo. I'll post the next chapter sometime today, and don't worry, Bella's not gone forever 


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** I think this chapter is the longest one so far. I think. If it's not then oh, well. Anyway, this chapter may be a bit scattered and hard to understand. If you have any questions or suggestions, just review, review, review!

**Disclaimer: **It's not mine. I think Avery may be mine, but it's not like she's copyrighted, or anything.

* * *

**CHAPTER 3**

**EPOV**

"Stop thinking! Everyone just shut up!" I finally shouted.

For the first time in weeks, I'd decided to come downstairs and see if I could talk—another thing I hadn't done in weeks—to Esme. Before I could even get to the study where Esme was, though, I broke. The thoughts of my family were just too much.

_He's finally come out of his room? I wonder why. He doesn't feel as if he's much better._

_God, he looks awful. He really needs to go hunting with us._

_I never saw this in my visions. Unless he's finally decided—No! Why must he be so masochistic? He's hurting us, too. YOU HEAR THAT, EDWARD?! YOU'RE HURTING US, TOO!!_

'_What up little bro?' No, that's too casual to say. How about, 'How are you Edward?' No, that's too stupid. If Bella were here, none of this would even be necessary. I'm gonna kill the little bitch who took Bella away. _

I couldn't take it anymore. They were all too loud! Alice was practically screaming at me inside her head and Jasper was mentally cringing. It's not as if it was my fault I was so hurt because I'd lost my angel.

My sweet, beautiful, caring angel. She was the one who'd gotten to truly know me in a way that no other person had. Not even my family. She saw the person beneath the evil monster that I am. Despite all of my flaws, she loved me. She loved for who I was, and I hadn't even gotten to say goodbye.

If I'd only changed her, none of this would be happening. She'd be in my arms instead of the ground. She'd be here with me. But, deep in my heart, I knew I was being selfish. Right now, she was in heaven like the angel she was. If she were with me she'd eventually hate me and the life I'd cursed her to. I knew all of this, but it didn't stop the pain from coming.

With the wall I had built slowly crumbling with the thoughts of my family members, I abandoned my plans to talk to Esme and ran back up to my room. Everything had reminded of Bella the first time I'd returned here, so I'd destroyed it all. The bed that I'd purchased for Bella had been thrown out of the window right after the leather couch. All of the CD's that reminded me of Bella had been broken and the pieces were scattered all around my room.

Soon after I destroyed all traces of her from the room, I'd gone outside and taken care of the Volvo. It smelled too much like Bella. And not in a good way either. My last memories of Bella in that car would forever haunt me. Alice had been driving to the hospital in it as I sat in the backseat cradling Bella's cold, lifeless body. It was then that I'd promised her that we'd be together forever, no matter what.

* * *

"_God, Bella, no! Wake up, Bella! Just wake up!" I sobbed, staring upoin her body as it lay on the hard ground._

_I knew she wouldn't wake up, that she couldn't. It didn't stop me from trying, though. _

"_Bella, please!"_

_She was so…cold. Her heart wasn't beating and the blood running through her veins was dead. Just as she was. All of the times that I'd cursed her in my mind for smelling so tempting; it was now that I begged for that temptation. Temptation meant that she was still alive and that she would wake up sooner or later. _

"_Edward," Alice placed a hand on my shoulder, dry sobs threatening to overcome her as they were me. "We have to get her to the hospital. Charlie and the others should know."_

_I looked up at Alice and saw the pain in her eyes, which just made me feel that much worse. Now, because of me, Bella was gone and so many people would be hurt. Alice, Esme, Carlisle, Rosalie, Jasper, Emmett, Charlie, Renée, all of Bella's friends at school- they'd all lost her, and so I had I. And Bella had lost something so much more important; her life. _

_With one more look at Alice, I turned back towards Bella and cradled her in my arms, sobbing all the way to the car. I didn't argue when Alice decided to drive. I didn't even argue when she decided to drive slower than the speed limit. All I did was look down upon my sweet Bella, remembering all the times we'd shared and all of those that we would never get to. _

"_Isabella, I love you so much." I sobbed. "I'm so, so sorry. Please, forgive me. I love you, Bella. We'll be together no matter what." I brushed a strand of hair away from her pale face and kissed her forehead. "I promise."_

_The only time I argued at all that day was when the doctors finally took her away from me._

_

* * *

_

Destroying my room and the Volvo had been the least of the damage. The worst came after I returned from Bella's funeral. I don't think anyone—least of all Esme---has quite forgiven me for it yet. I had returned home long before everyone else. Since they had all stayed to give their condolences and help Bella's parents, I decided to release all of the grief _I'd_ been feeling. So I grabbed the closest thing I could find and hurled it through the window. The smashing sound it made had given me a strange sense of satisfaction so I did it again. When I finally stopped, all that was left of the beautiful windows that Esme had worked so hard on were completely destroyed. My family returned to find me sprawled out on the ground in front of the house, crying out my angel's name and begging for her to be returned to me.

Now, as I sat on the new couch that Esme had seen fit to purchase for me, I thought of nothing. My mind was a complete blank as I tried to keep the pain from coming. I wanted to remain empty, because if I was empty then I didn't have to think. If I was empty, then I didn't have to move. If I was empty, then I didn't have to live.

Hours and hours passed as I sat there, staring off into the distance. The faint glow coming from the corner of my eye is the only thing that brought me to. My head jerked in the direction of the glow, and I let out the breath I'd been holding for what seemed like ages.

Standing before me was one of the most beautiful creatures I'd ever seen, Bella being the first. It resembled Bella, but at the same time didn't. None of their features were the same at all, but it was more of an aura similar to that of Bella's. That, and the fact that both were angels.

I stood up from my position and focused more clearly on the angel in front of me. There was a glow surrounding her form, and the pale hue of her skin made it that much brighter. She had magnificent blue eyes and blonde hair. The glow around her made it look almost white. No matter, though, she was still most definitely beautiful.

Clearly, I was delusional.

"My name is Avery." The angel's melodic voice filled my ears as I just stared at her. "And you, I presume, are Edward."

I nodded, not knowing what to say at first. But I soon realized it didn't really matter. After all, if I was delusional, I might as well play it up a bit.

"Why are you here?" I asked. Simple question.

"I," she stepped closer, "am the angel of second chances."

Or not. "That didn't answer my question. Why are you here?" I asked again.

"Edward, do you believe everyone deserves a second chance?" she asked, continuing to ignore my question.

"Not everyone, no." I shook my head hesitantly. "Evil people don't deserve anything."

The angel, Avery, nodded. "Do you believe that _you_ deserve a second chance?"

What did she mean? What kind of second chance? Different questions to ask her ran through my head all at once, and I had no idea how to answer her.

"Well," I started, choosing my words carefully, "I don't think that I've done anything to prove that I deserve a second chance. To be honest, I don't know what you mean. After all, you do realize what I am, don't you?"

"Yes, I do. You are a vampire. However, it was not as if you chose that fate for yourself. It was just that; fate. Now, I want to give you an opportunity to start over. To begin again. Do you want that? Do you want to start from the beginning?"

What beginning?

"What do you mean?"

"Edward, I have the ability to set things back before any of this ever happened. I can make it so that you never died from the Spanish Influenza. I can make it so that you did die from it, and never met Carlisle. I can it make it so that you never met Isabella. I can make it so that Isabella hasn't died. I can even make it so that none of the events leading up to her death happened. Do you want that? A chance to start over from some point in your life"

"Of course I want that. But you're asking me if I deserve it, aren't you? The answer is no, I don't deserve any of it. If it weren't for me, then Bella would still be here and other people wouldn't have died in the past. I'm a monster. Monsters deserve nothing, least of all second chances."

"You are wrong. You are not a monster, Edward. If you were, I would not be here. You actually think angels associate themselves with _monsters_?"

"Bella did."

"Once again, Edward, you're not a monster. And I'm giving you the opportunity for a second chance. It is up to you, however, if you take it or not. Isabella would want you to."

"Bella," I corrected. Just saying her name was like going through the loss of her all over again. "Fine," I nodded. "I'll take your second chance. I want her to live again, to have life."

"Very well, Edward. Though, I must warn you. Just because you may remember what has happened, I cannot guarantee you that anyone else will." She gave me a timid smile and suddenly the proper manner in which she was speaking was gone, replaced by just a normal-sounding teenage girl. "I'm new at this. But I promise that I'll try my hardest to reach out to Bella."

In one swift movement, her lips were upon mine and then gone. I tried to question her, to ask what that was for, but I couldn't speak. Blackness was sweeping over me.


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4**

**BPOV**

The last thing I remembered was darkness swallowing me. Victoria had killed me. I knew for a fact that I had died. Yet here I was, back at Forks High. Without Edward.

Scared could not even begin to describe how I felt. I knew for a fact that this should not be happening. I was dead. I had died. There was no way I should be back at school, sitting across from Jessica and listening to everyone gossiping. Everything was different since the last time I'd seen them all, too.

They all looked younger. And, as I looked around, I noticed that there were students here who had already graduated. Something was off. _Way _off.

"Jessica," I hesistated, "um, what day is it?"

She looked at me questioningly and I felt others looking at me as well, but I ignored them. All I cared about was knowing what day it was.

"January 18, why?"

"What year?" I asked. Those who weren't looking at me before definately were now.

"2005. Again, why?"

_No, it couldn't be_, I thought. It was the first day of school all over again. This was not good. Not good, at all. I'd still yet to answer Jessica's question and I noticed that she was looking at me more intently than before. Of course, I told myself, you're the new girl again and now they all think you're absolutely crazy.

"No reason. I was just checking. Um, I need to go do something." I finally answered, hesitating throughout. It wasn't hard to tell that I was lying.

Without waiting for anyone to question my sanity, I grabbed my lunch tray and dumped it before running out of the cafeteria. Something was going on, and I was determined to get to the bottom of it. Why was it that after I died, I was now suddenly back in my first day of school?

This was impossible. I was going insane, and I knew it. The past year and a half of my life had never happened. Edward and I had never happened. Nothing had happened. I was just Bella Swan, new student at Forks High and insane person. Vampires didn't exist and neither did werewolves. I was just hallucinating.

However, I knew these were all lies. Even I'm not _that_ creative, and why would I have imagined I'd died? Oh, how I needed to talk to Edward. What if he didn't know me, though? Why was all of this happening? I had so many questions, and no one to answer them.

All of my questions were pointless, though. They were unimportant. The only thing that was important right now was being in Edward's arms and feeling his lips upon mine once more. That's all that ever mattered.

I'll do it, then. I'll march back in there and talk to Edward. After all, everyone already thinks I'm crazy. It couldn't hurt, right? The only problem left was what to say.

_Oh, well. I think of that when I get there._

I turned around to walk back in, but I never got the chance to. As was my luck, I ran into something hard and fell backwards, landing hard on my back. When I looked up, all thoughts of pain and confusion were gone and I was greeted by the wonderful topaz orbs that I'd been longing for.

**EPOV**

When I opened my eyes, I was in the school cafeteria. All that was running through my mind was one thing: Would Bella remember me? It wasn't hard to tell that where I was, I didn't know Bella yet. Or I wasn't talking to her anyway, at least.

Maybe a second passes before I determined the precise date.

"So, is the new one afraid of us yet?" Emmett asked.

That was all I needed to hear. It was July 18, also Bella's first day of school. The day that my life had been completely flipped upside down.Hers had, as well. She just wasn't as quite aware of it like I was. My eyes wandered around the room, searching for the angel—_my_ angel—that I'd lost. I saw her storm out of the double doors leading into the cafeteria.

Strange. I don't remember her doing that. And I was certain that if it had happened the first time, almost two years ago, then I would remember it.

Just as I was about to get up to go after her, Alice's eyes glazed over; she was having a vision. She looked curiously at me, but I just smiled. Everything would be perfect.

I raced out of the cafeteria and down the hall, searching for Bella. I found her pacing in front of some lockers and I smiled to myself, letting all of the pain I'd felt from losing her disappear. She turned around, then, running straight into me. The impact knocked her down and she shook her head once before looking up.

The feelings that flooded into me at that moment were indescribable. All of the pent up emotions that I'd been suppressing after she'd died came out as I lifted her up into my arms, kissing her with all my might. At that moment, I could have cared less if she remembered me or not. The boundaries that had been set up so long ago diminished and I allowed her the entry she used to practically beg for. My hands cupped her face as hers roamed through my hair, pulling me closer and closer to her. Nothing in this world could have compared to that moment.

"Bella," I breathed when we broke apart. "Oh, Bella, I'm so sorry. I love you, I love you, I love you."

"I love you, too, Edward. So, so much." Both of us were having trouble breathing and I smiled corookedly when her words came out in short gasps.

"Bella, promise me you'll never leave me again. Not even for a second, okay? Never, ever leave me again. Once was three times too many, okay?"

She nodded into my chest as she cried. Oh, how I'd missed her sweet scent and her loving touch. I'd missed _her_.

"I promise never to leave you if you swear never to leave me," she said.

"Trust me, Bella; leaving you was the second hardest thing I'd had to do. At least then, I thought you were safe. But you going away from me forever…" I lifted her face to look into her eyes. "I swear to never let you out of my sight again. I don't even care what my family says or what your family says. I don't care what anyone says. We're staying together forever."

She looked into my eyes to see if I was telling the truth and then closed the short distance between our lips once again, stealing a small kiss.

"What happened?" she asked. "I thought that I was…I was dead."

"Come with me," I said, taking her hand into mine. "Do you mind skipping the rest of the day?"

'Not if it means I'm with you," she shook her head. I flashed her a smile and lightly kissed her again before leading her outside and to the Volvo I assumed would be there.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** Sorry it's been so long since I've updated, but I've had some...stuff to deal with at school. It's not completely taken care of yet, but I promise to update as often as I can. The only reason I'm able to right now is because I just happen to be sick. Lucky me, right? Anyway, this chapter may be random, but you'll have to read to know what I'm talking about. If you like it, review. If you hate it, review. Do you see the direction I'm going in?

**Disclaimer:** Don't own it.

* * *

**CHAPTER 5**

**BPOV**

The next hour and a half was spent in Edward's car as he told me all that had happened while I'd been…for lack of a better word, gone. He told me of all the things he'd done and when he told me about destroying the Volvo I took a break from all of the crying I'd been doing at the pain Edward had gone through to finally laugh.

"Why are you laughing?" he'd asked tipping his head to the side, looking adorably confused.

"It's just funny picturing you taking a bat, or something, to your Volvo. I thought you loved the thing."

"The Volvo is not a _thing,_" he corrected. "It is a car. Besides, I don't love anything as much as I love you," he said.

He continued on with his story and I listened closely, rolling my eyes as he told me about how he'd told the angel he didn't deserve a second chance because he was a 'monster.' He told me about everything, including the kiss. Of course I was a bit mad, but not at him. I mean, my soul mate was kissed by an _angel_. Wouldn't you be a little jealous?

Anyway, we stayed in the car kissing, talking, kissing. It was like Italy all over again. but better, and I was scared I would wake up and it would all be a dream. Edward continued to reassure me, though, kissing me in ways he never had before. Our hands worked to memorize one another and not one second passed where we weren't touching. It was pure bliss.

"What are we going to do about everyone, though?" I asked as I leaned into his chest. He wrapped his arms around me and brought my body closer to his.

"Well, we'll have to explain everything to _my_ family, because, as I said, I'm never letting you out of my sight again. As for Charlie and everyone else—for example, Mike—we'll just have to make something up. Either way, I'm getting all of my classes changed to match your schedule and you're moving in with me."

Whoa. Wait a minute. What? I was moving in with him? Of course, I'd dreamed of it forever, but I still lived with Charlie. A version of Charlie who knew nothing of Edward, I might add. And, until just recently, I'd been dead. All of this was just too much. I'd gone from being a normal girl, to having a vampire boyfriend, to being hunted by vampires, to having said vampire boyfriend leave me, to having to stop said boyfriend from killing himself, to being threatened by the Volturi, to being hunted down again by Victoria, to finally being killed by Victoria, to going back in time due to an angel giving Edward and I a second chance.

That was a lot for one person to go through, but I had. And now Edward wanted me to move in with him. Despite the fact that none of our families knew about the other, he actually wanted me to move in with him.

"How soon?" was the first question that escaped my lips.

He laughed at my eagerness. Clearly, he'd been expecting me to ask or worry about our families, but I truly didn't. We'd find a way to be together no matter what happened. We both knew that. Hadn't we already been through more than enough already? And yet, we were still together.

"As soon as possible. We can get my classes changed to match yours now, if you'd like."

"Crap," I muttered as I realized something. "Today was my first day. That means I had to get that stupid little slip signed by all of my teachers."

"No worries," Edward chuckled. "Come on, let's go get it. You should know by now that I can forge almost any signature perfectly."

And he was right. We first stopped by my locker to get my things and I handed Edward the slip. I watched as he signed the blank lines, making it look just as it had all that time ago. Interesting.

Once that was taken care of, we made our way to the front office. Ms. Cope was sitting in the same position that I remembered and she looked up when she heard the door open. The shock on her face was clear when she saw us together, hand in hand. After all, if I remember correctly, the Cullens weren't exactly the social type and I'd supposedly been here a day.

"Why, Ms. Swan, how was your first day? " She completely ignored the breif little detail that classes weren't out yet, so technically I really shouldn't be here yet.

"Good," I answered honestly, glancing at Edward. "Very good. Oh, um, here's the slip."

She took it from my outstretched hand after looking over Edward and me once more. With one, swift look at the slip, she filed it away under a stack of papers strewn over her desk. How very organized. Not.

"Ms. Cope," Edward stepped forward. From the way he spoke and the way his eyes gleamed, I knew immediately that he was trying to dazzle her. A laugh threatened to escape my lips as he continued.

"I was just wondering, do you think it's possible that I get my schedule changed around just a little?"

"Of course you can Mr. Cullen. What would you like to change?"

"Well, is it possible I get all my classes matched will Bella's?"

This came as a shock, too. She quickly recomposed herself, though; acting as if the bewildered look that had been on for face for almost five seconds had never happened.

"Um, may I ask why?"

"You see, Bella and I know each other from…when we were younger. And I just thought that since she's new, it would be nice to have a familiar face around."

Hmm. Very good lie. There's no way anyone else would believe it, but it should work in this case. I studied Ms. Cope's face, trying to interpret her actions. Would she change Edward's classes?

"Okay," she nodded, searching through a stack of papers. "It looks like there's room in all of her classes, and I'm sure the teachers won't mind. Just sign this." She handed him a sheet of paper, and he signed it without a second look.

"Thank you, Ms. Cope. We both appreciate it."

Not giving her a chance to say anything else, he grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the office.

"What was that for?" I asked.

"Her thoughts were…" he shuddered.

"Oh, really? What was she thinking?" I smiled, wrapping my arms around his waist and pulling myself as close to him as I could.

"She was thinking that she could steal me away from you," he smirked down at me.

"Humph. We can't have that, now, can we?"

"No, we can't. For numerous reasons. The first one being that I love you far too much to ever leave you again. That, and the fact that I'm essentially a selfish creature."

He leaned down to kiss my head but I intervened, standing on my tip toes to reach his lips. After all, I'd been dead for two weeks and even though I didn't know it mentally, I could practically feel it physically. His lips turned up into a smile under mine and I smiled back. One advantage of being dead: apparently, it makes your boyfriend forget pretty much all the boundaries that you'd set.

"You're tricky, but I like it," he murmured when I pulled away to breathe.

I rolled my eyes and started walking back towards the Volvo, stumbling a bit on the way. The bell rang and students came pouring out. I could already feel their gaze on me and the whispering that followed. As I tried to make my way through them all without being too noticed, I felt arms snare around my waist and pull me back.

"I wasn't done with you," Edward whispered.

Then, he brought my lips forcefully to his. I could practically feel the silence in the school's courtyard that followed.

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**A/N:** Uh-oh. Bad Edward. So, I know you're probably looking at the screen and thinking about how crazy I am. How is Bella going to manage moving in with Edward when they have Charlie, Renee, and everyone else to worry about? Well, you'll all find out as soon as I do.


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 6**

**EPOV**

_What the hell?!_

_Cullen and the new girl? Lucky man. What I wouldn't give for a piece of **that**._

_I hate her. I've been trying to get Edward to talk to me forever and she just swoops in and steels him. She's not even really pretty._

_Lucky girl._

And more variations of the exact same thing. It was rather annoying hearing their thoughts as I tried to kiss Bella. The thoughts that were most clear, however, were those coming from my family. And none of them were very nice. Well, maybe Alice and Emmett's. Jasper was simply confused, but Rosalie was fuming. She was thinking such vile thoughts that they were practically drowning out everyone elses.

I chose to ignore her for now, and continued kissing Bella like I wanted to. We had a lot to make up for. When I pulled away, she was glaring at me.

"Why in the world," she whispered fiercely, "did you do that in front of the entire school?!"

I couldn't help but smile at the wonderful blush that was creeping up across her face. Absolutely beautiful, I thought. I couldn't see how I'd managed to live months without her once, and then weeks without her again. Even a day seemed like too much to go without seeing her now.

"Fine," she grumbled. "If you're just gonna sit there and stare at me instead of answering my question, I'll leave."

She turned off to walk away, but I was obviously much faster than she was. Catching her arm and spinning her back to me before she could even take two steps was much too easy.

"Do not blame me for being tempted so much by you're beauty. If anyone is to blame, it is you. And you're not going anywhere. You're coming with me."

I began leading her to the car where my family was waiting, but she stopped me.

"What about my truck? I can't just leave it, can I?" She smiled, thinking she'd found a way around things. But I didn't blame her; meeting my family wasn't top on my list of priorities either. Still, she wasn't getting out of it that easy.

"You know what? You're right. We'll drive your truck and meet everyone else at my house. Perfect. It will give them some time to think."

Her smile fell and I wrapped my arms around her waist once more. We walked like that to my family, making her all the more clumsy and giving me that many more chances to pick her up. Soon, we were face to face with my siblings and I was faced with the opportunity to introduce Bella to them all over again.

"Alice, this is the girl in your vision. Everyone, Bella."

_Edward,_ Alice hissed in her mind, _why did you just talk about my visions in front of her? She's a human!_

"She knows, Alice. It's a bit…complicated. We need to explain some things to you."

_Like what? How dangerous this stupid human is? I knew that no good would come of Alice's vision._

"Rosalie," I growled. "Believe it, or not, you once liked Bella."

_Yeah, right. How could I have liked her, as in past tense. I don't even know her. And have you ever met a human that I've liked. No. So-_

"Um, this may sound really weird, but can we talk about it somewhere else?" Bella asked. "People are starting to stare."

_Yeah, at you._

I glared at Rosalie. Things were going to be even more complicated then I thought. And that was saying lot.

**BPOV**

As we pulled into the familiar white house, I found myself as scared as the first time I'd met Edward's family. None of them remembered me, and so they had no reason to like me. To them, I was just going to be some random human girl who, for some reason, knew their secret and had been kissing their brother, or son in Carlisle and Esme's perspective. As much as I understood why they thought this, it didn't stop the pain that came with the knowledge. I'd have to start over again with everyone.

Edward seemed to understand my silence as we walked into the house. He bothered to ask me no questions. All he did was offer me the comfort of his arm around my waist and the soothing words of encouragement in my ear. It was enough for now.

When we walked inside, I saw all of Edward's siblings retreat into the living room. Edward and I followed.

"Esme," Alice said.

As soon as her name was called, she appeared. She jumped in surprise when she saw me, and her eyes widened, but then she quickly recollected herself.

"Hello, dear. Who are you?"

"Esme, this is Bella," Edward introduced me. "I think you should call Carlisle. We have a lot to tell you."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **Sorry that I didn't include one of these in my last chapter or two, but I was rushed. Oh, and I just wanted to thank those who review and just keep on. It's much appreciated. This chapter may be bad, because I am so lost without my flash drive. I lost so much info. But, um, read and review.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the book. It goes for all of the chapters.

* * *

**CHAPTER 7**

**EPOV **

My family took it surprisingly well. Carlisle got home about half an hour after Esme called, just as I'd asked. Bella and I sat the family down and told them the entire, gruesome story of how we ended up where we are now. We told them everything about our lives, including the relationships between Bella and everyone. Alice wasn't at all surprised that she'd had Bella as her own personal Barbie, and Esme smiled warmly as Bella recollected how much having Esme as a mother figure had meant to her.

Carlisle was the calmest. Although he was a bit skeptical, he saw just how much Bella and I loved each other. If our story was fake, then our love would be, too, he'd said. And after being with Esme for as long as he had, he could see just by looking in my eyes that I'd found the other half of myself.

"So, let me get this straight," Rosalie said inquisitively. Her original anger towards Bella had been replaced by fascination as we told our story. "You expect us to believe that this evil vampire, Victoria, killed you," she pointed to Bella, "and then an angel came to you," she motioned towards me, "and sent you back in time, like, a year earlier?"

Bella nodded.

"I know it sounds a bit far fetched," she sighed. "But it's all true. I remember dying; the blackness and the pain. And then, when I opened my eyes again, I was back here. Since Edward remembered, too, I knew I wasn't going crazy or in a dream."

"Poor Bella," I scoffed, "always thinking she's more creative than she is."

She turned from her position on my lap to glare at me. I smiled innocently and she turned back, ignoring me. It didn't matter, though. Happiness filled me just knowing that she was here and had a chance to ignore me. She wasn't dead, and I would be forever grateful to the angel, Avery, who gave her back to me.

"Anyway," Bella continued, "none of you have to believe us, but we told you the truth. But, um, I should be getting home soon. My father will probably be worrying, so..."

"Oh, of course, dear." Esme stood as Bella did.

_I like her, Edward. She seems...honest. Perfect for you. And she feels like a daughter already._

I chuckled silently and got up to stand next to Bella.

"Wait!" Alice shouted running over to us.

She'd been the most silent throughout our story, running over every detail in her head repeatedly, so her sudden outburst startled Bella.

"Please, stay." She was talking to Bella. "From what you told me, you were my best friend. And, for some reason, it feels like your story happened. I mean, I don't remember much of it, but I can feel the bond we had. Does that make sense?"

"Yes, believe it or not, it actually does."

Alice moved to give Bella a hug and Bella's smile was blinding. She'd missed Alice, too. The smile on her face brought a smile to mine and I looked back towards the remainder of my family who were all looking on in amusement.

"So you'll stay the night?"

"What about Charlie?"

"Leave him to me." Alice winked and then ran off to who-knows-where.

I snaked my arms around Bella's waist and she leaned into me. The warmth of her skin reminded me just how much I'd missed her and how lucky I was to have her.

Esme smiled warmly at us and kissed Bella on the cheek before leaving. Emmett came next and took Bella from my arms so he could lift her into the air, deciding to envelop her into a giant bear hug.

"Can't...breathe..." she squeaked out.

He released her, laughing the whole time.

"Well, I figure that if you were a part of this family before, then you'll be even more a part of it now. Might as well start off somewhere," he chuckled.

Rosalie rose out of her seat hesitantly. She didn't know whether or not to hate Bella or love her.

"You don't have to be nice to me, Rosalie," Bella said as if reading her mind. "It's not as if you were all that nice to me before. I don't understand it, but it's okay. If it happens overtime, then great. If not, then whatever."

_Well, if everyone else is going to be nice to her, then I'll try. But I'm not guaranteeing that I'll like her, okay Edward? _

I nodded slightly.

"I'll try, Bella. Just give me time."

With that, Emmett and Rosalie ran upstairs, leaving only Bella, Jasper, and I.

"I'm sorry," Jasper whispered finally. "I'm so, so sorry."

_I caused most of the problems between them. It was my fault._

"Jasper, don't think that. It was an accident."

Bella looked on for a minute, confused. It wasn't until she finally realized it that Jasper's head jerked up.

"Why do _you_ feel guilty?" he asked.

"Because," Bella whispered, "I forgave you but you haven't forgiven yourself. You hadn't before and you don't now. I feel that if I hadn't been so stupid and clumsy, then things would have gone better for all of us. It's not your fault, it's mine."

"It's neither of your faults, okay? And I'd rather not be discussing this right now. I have you back and I'm happy and everyone else should be, too. Okay? For once, we don't have to worry about anything and I'd like to enjoy that time because we so rarely have it."

Bella and Edward nodded, a smile tugging at the corner of their lips.

"What's so funny?"

"You," they both said in unison.

"Care to explain?"

"You sound old," Jasper said.

Bella giggled and I rolled my eyes. I had my family back. The way it was supposed to be.

* * *

**A/N: **To clear things up, the angel, Avery, kissed Edward because that's how she sets things back. She has to kiss the person. Oh, and she's definitely coming back. Probably in the next chapter or the one after that. I haven't decided yet. 


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: **This chapter may be really bad, especially the ending due to writer's block. I think the end is the worst though, so just ignore how bad it is. All of my reviews are greatly appreciated, so please continue.

**Disclaimer:** Must we go over this again? Okay, fine. Stephanie Meyer owns it, not me.

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**CHAPTER 8**

**BPOV**

Alice had somehow convinced Charlie to let me stay the night. When I asked her, she muttered something about a school project and having to pull an all-nighter. She wouldn't let me speak to him, though. She said that she'd had a vision and that I'd messed everything up when I talked to him. It made sense, though. I wasn't the best liar in the world.

Currently, I was sitting in the living room with everyone just talking. They were all asking me different questions and trying to get to know me better. It was difficult answering them, however, because I was eating at the same time.

"What's your favorite color?" Alice asked.

It was like 20 questions with Edward all over again. The only thing that had changed was the person—or people—asking the question.

"Brown," Edward and I said at the same time.

He'd taken to answering the questions with me, just to prove even further how well we knew each other to his family.

I took another bite of my chicken—Edward can still cook—as they thought of something else to ask me.

"Favorite book?" Jasper asked.

"Pride and Prejudice."

This continued for another hour before it was stopped. Alice and Rosalie insisted that they help me pick something to wear to school tomorrow, despite the fervent protests from Edward and I. But nothing could stop them.

"Oh, come on Edward," Alice begged. "You want her to look good, don't you?"

"She always does, no matter what she's wearing," he answered, earning a kiss from me.

The kiss was soon taken back when he turned me over to them, a smile on his face. I glared at him as I was dragged away, protesting the whole time. When we got Alice's room, I was pushed onto the bed and thrown into an hour of torture. By the end of it all, they had planned my outfits for the next week. And, technically, I'd only started school yesterday. People were going to be very, very suspicious. We'd have to make up a story tonight.

Anyway, I was ecstatic when they finally let me go. And to ensure that I wasn't pulled back, I ran as fast as I could to Edward's room. Oh, I forgot. I can't even walk without falling, so what was the point in running? As I felt myself falling, a pair of stone cold arms wrapped themselves around me. Only, they didn't belong to Edward.

"We heard you did this a lot, but honestly, Bella," Emmett said as he set me upright. "This is the sixth time tonight."

I blushed crimson and muttered a sorry before Emmett laughed and continued on his way. Finally, I got to Edward's room. It looked…different. Of course, this could be because my bed wasn't here. Oh well. Edward was sitting on the couch staring out of the window when I walked in. He turned to smile at me as I made my way over to him.

"How was your time with Alice and Rosalie," he asked while I settled myself into a comfortable position against his chest.

"Be very quiet," I whispered, ignoring his question.

He obeyed and I rested my head on his chest, breathing in the scent of him. He understood my reasoning and shifted a bit, lying down further on the couch. We sat like that for a while, just holding each other. I knew it was impossible, but I'd missed this feeling. Though I hadn't been around to miss it, I somehow did. And for this I was grateful. I was grateful that, even though I died, I missed Edward. It proved how deep my love for him ran and that nothing could separate us forever. Not even death.

**EPOV**

She looked so peaceful when she was sleeping. So, when it came time for us to get ready for school, I was hesitant to wake her. Alice, however, didn't mind at all. She barged into my room and dragged a very groggy Bella out of my room and into hers. I laughed at Bella's confused expression as she left.

While she was gone, I took my time getting ready. I dressed as casually as possible and then went downstairs to prepare Bella breakfast. I was surprised to Esme there already, making what seemed like eggs.

_I wanted to show her that even though we may not remember her, we're willing to make an effort_, Esme thought when she sensed my presence. I smiled at her and bent down to kiss her cheek.

"Thank you, mother."

Her smile brightened at the use of the word, as it always did. A few minutes later, I heard Bella walking down the stairs. She was being extra careful. After another minute, she was standing in front of me, looking as beautiful as ever. A mocha colored shirt hugged her form tightly and I was happy to see that she wore a pair of black flats. Alice and Rosalie had done well.

"Good morning," I said as I kissed her head lightly.

"Shut up," she said. "It's too early to be good."

I held back my laugh as she made her way further into the kitchen. However, I couldn't hold back my smile when she hugged Esme…and Esme didn't hesitate at all to hug Bella back.

* * *

Everything had been going perfect. So something was bound to happen to affect it. When Bella and I arrived at school, my family behind us, I was surprised to see that another car was parked beside mine. I mean, of course another car would be parked there, but it was the type of car that shocked me.

It was common knowledge in Forks that my family was, by far, the richest. We had the best cars, the best clothes, the best whatever. We didn't like to flaunt it, but everyone knew we had it. No one else in Forks could come close to the kind of money we had. Yet, already parked in the parking lot was a brand new BMW, not belonging to any of the current students.

As I helped Bella out of the car, I looked around to see if I saw anyone I didn't recognize.

_Nice car_, Rosalie thought. _Who does it belong to?_

"I don't know," I said. "Maybe a new student."

"Two new students in two days? Unlikely," Alice said as she looked at Bella. "Besides, I would have seen it."

I thought for a moment and then decided to give up. We'd find out by the end of the day. It was, after all, a small school.

"Let's just go to class."

We began walking when I saw her. Avery. She spotted me as well and ran over. I wasn't sure if I was happy to see her or not. However, the words that she said to me ruined everything.

"I made a mistake."

Bella and the rest of my family looked on confused as I stood there, not wanting to comprehend what she was saying. Mistakes were not good.

"What kind of mistake?"

"You two aren't the only ones who remember."

I relaxed a bit. After all, that could be taken care of. The person might claim insanity, or something. No big deal.

"Who else remembers?" I asked, prepared to hear someone of no importance.

"The werewolf, Jacob and—"

"Jake?" Bella asked seemingly happy.

"—and Victoria," Avery finished.

Bella's breathing became abnormal as she took this all in. She was beginning to hyperventilate. Before anything could be done, she fainted.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: **Aren't you so proud of me? Two updates in one day...kind of. Seeing how it's like, 1:34 AM, it's not the same day, but I really don't care. I'm extremely worn out, yet somehow still awake. That could be because of the frappucinos, though. Those things are, like, addictive. Anyway, This chapter is kind of OOC. Especially Victoria's point of view, but remember—it's late and I am a bit out of it. Oh, and a warning: Victoria is the most out of character. I think that's all I had to say...OH!** REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!!!** They are much appreciated, even flames. I have 2, 745 hits, yet only 29 reviews. Does this seem at all logical? I think not, so either people don't like my story, yet keep reading it, or some of you are just lazy and don't want to review. But even if you don't like it, please give me something. I mean, come on. Simply read everything I have just put in bold, okay? If you do, I'll be forever grateful. Well...maybe not forever, but for as long as I live.

**Disclaimer: **Are you that dense? I don't own it, Stephanie Meyer does.

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**CHAPTER 9**

**VPOV**

What the _hell_?

One minute, I'm standing over some stupid human drinking their blood, and the next minute…Well, I was doing the same thing, it was just a different human and a different setting. Immediately, I sat up to look around. I was absolutely stunned to see James and Laurent bent over humans, as well.

Laurent, last I heard, had been killed by the stupid wolves. And James…

_No,_ I shook my head,_ it can't be true._

That little human's boyfriend had killed him. Just as I had killed her. I smiled at the thought, remembering the sweet taste of her blood. Or at least the little I'd gotten. Those stupid Cullens had chased me off. Before that, however, I'd enjoyed making the little bitch suffer. The snap of her bones as she crashed into the tree and the hurt look on her face when I told her that her precious Edward would be next.

My thoughts were interrupted when I saw James lift a tree to bury the stupid camper's body. Soon after, Laurent followed. Eventually, they turned to me and each gave me a curious glance. Thinking to just go with it for a moment, I finished off the human beneath me and then buried him/her. Whatever.

"What's wrong, Vicky?" Laurent purred, knowing I hated being called _Vicky_. "You seem distracted."

"Nothing's wrong you twit," I snapped. (**A/N: I have no idea why I put this. I just always wanted to call someone a twit…okay, um, yah. Back to the story.)**

"Where are we?" I asked.

James tilted his head and looked at me carefully.

"You don't know where we are? Strange, Victoria, very strange. You, after all, are the one that picked this place."

I thought hard, remembering something. James had let me pick where we hunted on many occasions. It wasn't unusual, seeing as how I had my ways of convincing him. This wasn't helpful at all.

"Remind me," I said as I moved closer to him, pressing my body against his.

"We, my dear, are in Brazil."

Now I remembered. Shit. If we were in Brazil, James and Laurent were still alive, and I knew for a fact that I wasn't dead, then that meant…

Ugh!

"Shit!" I growled.

That meant that that stupid human hadn't died either. This meant that I had another chance. And just because James wasn't dead wasn't going to stop me. If anything, it fueled my anger and my desire to kill the stupid girl all over again. Before her mate had a chance to kill mine.

I laughed.

"Bitch is goin' down. Again"

**BPOV**

My eyes opened to find five vampires and—apparently, from the little I'd gathered—an angel standing above me. They were all shouting at each other, but that all stopped when they realized that I was conscious. I have no idea why they were all so worried, though. After all, hearing the name of the vampire who killed you was expected to have at least _some_ affect over you, right? Especially when you thought you heard that she remembered you. And if you use common sense, she was obviously going to want to come after me again, right?

I tried to sit up, but was stopped when Edward picked me up instead.

"Bella, are you okay?" he asked.

I glared at him. What kind of question was that?

"Sorry," he murmured.

"Isabella," the mysterious girl/angel/whatever said, "I didn't mean to shock you. I meant to warn you."

"Like there's a difference," Rosalie scoffed.

I wriggled in Edward's arms and he sat me down, a hand on my lower back for support should I faint again.

"What do you mean Victoria remembers?" I asked. "And Jacob, too?"

The girl/angel/whatever—I'd forgotten her name, seeing as how Edward only mentioned her once and I was too bothered with her kissing him to really care about a name—looked down at her feet. Which just happened to be adorned in designer boots.

"Is there somewhere else we can talk about his? There's a lot to explain."

"Does anyone but me feel a strange sense of déjà vu going on?" Emmett asked only to be smacked promptly by Rosalie. "What was that for? I mean, come on, this is the second time in two days."

"Thanks for pointing out the obvious," Rosalie said, "but I highly doubt that this is a joking matter from what we heard about Victoria yesterday."

"She's right," I said mechanically. "We can go to my house. It's closer and Charlie should be at work. Besides, there's no need to bother Esme right now."

Everyone nodded in agreement, but I ignored them, focusing only on the wet ground beneath my feet. Why must my happiness always be ruined? Every time something seemed to be going right, it always went wrong again. _Always_. I was never going to happy for long, it seemed. The only thing that was always there for me was Edward, but there was a part of my brain that told me not even he was guaranteed, despite the promises he'd made. Sometime, I think that I think too much.

We all walked to our cars, everyone but me talking about something as I continued to stare at the ground.

"Nothing is going to happen to you," Edward whispered in my ear. It was like he'd read my mind. "I swear."

I looked up at him with tears in my eyes.

"That's what you said before," I whispered. "And look where we ended up."

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**A/N: **The little bit where Victoria is all "Bitch is goin' down," was majorly out of character, I know. But, remember that drama in my author's note that I was talking about? Well, this is what one of my so-called-friends said about me, and I found it funny, so I put it there. After all, I did absolutely nothing to this girl, and Bella didn't do anything to Victoria, so...yah. Enough of my problems, But I just thought it was highly funny and I wanted to use it in my story. Please excuse my odd behavior, but, as I've said, it's late and I think I'm going to go and get a nice 12 hours of sleep now. Oh, and reviews are again welcomed...Oh, my god. I am so stupid. I just now figured out how to put the little ruler thing in my story...looks at the people staring at her and laughs timidly Read the previous thing about how late it is, okay? Then you'll understand why I'm acting so weird.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: **I am soooooo sorry. I haven't updated in forever, it seems. The documents manager would not let me post this chapter. I tried at least once a day everyday last week. Again, I am SO sorry!!! But I promise I'll try to start updating more regularly, so just please be patient. It may also be a little short, but I'm suffering from a bit of writer's block, so be patient. And thanks to all of those who have reviewed. Keep it up!!

**Disclaimer: **Twilight is not mine. Any weirdness you may see in this story, however, is.

**CHAPTER 10**

**BPOV**

The quick drive to my house felt anything but. I knew I'd hurt Edward with what I'd said, but it was too late to take it back. And I'm not too sure I would if I could. I knew that I was being mean, even more masochistic that Edward possibly, but I couldn't help it. The world was out to get me, and he was still dead set against changing me. At least, I think he was. Surprisingly enough, we hadn't talked about it yet. And now wasn't exactly the best time.

Edward and I were the first to pull into my house and everyone else followed. Even thought he was most likely upset with me, he still helped me out of his car and held onto me as we walked to the door.

Once inside, everyone made their way to the living room. It was a bit cramped, but everyone managed to fit and Edward even pulled me onto his lap again. We all sat in silence for what seemed like minutes before Edward finally spoke.

"I think you should explain now," he said to the angel. His voice calmed me and I leaned back further into him. He didn't push me away, but welcomed me.

"Right," she nodded. "Well, you see, I haven't been an angel for long, so what I did was kind of new to me. When I tried to set everything back, I wanted for you and Isabella to remember your love for each other. But I made a mistake. The werewolf, Jacob, remembers and so does the vampire that killed Isabella, Victoria. I honestly tried to wipe their memory, but it didn't work. I came here to warn you. It seems that I'm going to be your guardian now, as well," she turned to me. "To make sure that nothing happens to you that isn't supposed to."

Oh, great. Just absolutely great. So not only did I have an overprotective vampire boyfriend, but now I also had a guardian angel. Can someone please yell 'cut' already? Because I would really enjoy a break from the constant drama and danger that's constantly clouding out lives, I think everyone else would, too.

"A guardian angel?" Emmett asked.

"Pretty much, yes," the angel nodded.

Well, if she was going to be guarding me, I might as well find out her name.

"What's you name? Why do you not have wings if you're really an angel? Why did you kiss Edward? And how do you plan to protect me?"

Edward laughed at my sudden impatience and pulled me closer.

"Patience, my love, patience. Give her time."

"Oh, it's fine. My name is Avery." I nodded, happy to finally have a name. "And I have wings, but I would really rather not show you right now. Trust me; it's for the better. I had to kiss Edward because that's how I was able to set things back. It was all necessary, so no need to worry. If it had been you, I would have had to do the same thing. As for protecting you, I'm not sure what I'll do yet. It all depends on what happens and whether or not those who remember plan to do anything about it. Any more questions?"

"What's your story?" Alice asked. "And why couldn't I see you in any of my visions?"

"Well, as for your second question," Avery said, "the fact that I'm an angel should answer that. None of your abilities pertain to me, seeing as how I was never and will never be a human. And as for your first, I have no story. I was hoping that you all could help me with that."

"Later," Edward said. "Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper can take you to our house. I'm afraid that Bella had already missed too much school and she's just started. We need to get back, now. We'll discuss all of this when we return."

Before I could object, I was being dragged away and out of the house by Edward, Alice right behind. He set me in the Volvo and then got in himself. Within seconds, the Volvo was pushing at 110 mph and Edward continued to accelerate. I knew for sure that I was going to have a heart attack before the day was over.

We returned to school and Edward signed us all in late, claiming that there was a family emergency. Mrs. Cope looked at me, knowing, obviously, that I wasn't a part of the Cullen family. When she questioned us about this, Edward smoothly replied that I had stayed over last night and was there during the 'emergency.' Mrs. Cope raised her eyebrow, but said nothing more. The smirk on Edward's face made it clear, however, that what she did not say she definitely thought.

The rest of the day was very rushed, it seemed. Edward and I barely talked at all, and the one time he did speak to me, it was only to tell me that I needed to eat. He was thinking; that much was clear. What he was thinking about, however, was not. Alice wasn't as closed as Edward throughout the day, yet it was still clear that something was going on. She continued to throw anxious glances at Edward, asking him who-knows-what in her mind. Sometimes he would nod in agreement, other times he would shake his head.

"For the love of God, make up your mind already!" she shouted at one point in the cafeteria. Everyone went silent and she Edward simply looked at her. She sighed and took her tray, dumping it on the way out.

"What was that about?" I asked.

"Nothing," was the only reply I got.

Another regular occurrence throughout the day was the look that Edward and I got in the hallway. No matter who it was, it was always the same look of bewilderment and jealousy. Angela, Jessica, and Mike continued to throw me questioning glances, but Edward refused to leave me alone long enough to answer any of the questions. Until last period, apparently.

"I'll be here to pick you up after school. I have to go take care of a few things."

"Now, though?" I whined. I didn't want to be without him for any length of time, let alone in gym. I was a walking, talking death trap and he knew it. So why was he leaving me alone?

"Alice is here, she'll know if you get hurt or not. And Avery is an angel, so even though she's not here, you have to give her a little credit. She's your guardian, after all."

He kissed my hair and turned away to leave. So, I guess I was alone for an entire hour and a half. In gym.

**EPOV**

I didn't _want_ to leave her alone, but I had to. I know I had promised never to leave her side again, but this was something she just couldn't be with me for. She would understand soon, though. She would have to. Besides, I had to give the poor children some chance to question Bella about our relationship. I knew they were all practically dying of curiosity. After all, I was the one forced to listen to their thoughts and the endless questions flooding their minds every time they so much heard someone say our names. Pathetic children.

_Have you made up your mind yet, Edward? I haven't had a different vision for at least five minutes. _(Insert eye roll here.)

This was what Alice asked as I passed her classroom on the way to my car.

"Yes, I've made up my mind Alice. And I think I've made a _very_ good decision."

Normal people would not have heard me. They might have even thought I was talking to myself if they'd seen me. Alice could hear me, though. And I was ecstatic with her reply.

_I know for a fact that you have, Edward._

Psychic sisters; you've got to love them.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: **I really probably should have separated this into two different chapters, but I just felt so extremely bad for leaving all of my faithful readers hanging like that. I swear I didn't purposely abandon you all, but school has been crazy lately. We had to take all these tests on the computer these past two weeks, and I've been busy with a project, so I haven't really had time to update. Okay, well I've had time, but I hit serious writer's block when I did have time, so nothing was ever written. Please, please, please forgive me. And you know what, if you promise to review, I promise to have another chapter up by tomorrow, no matter how hard I have to rack my brain for ideas. Speaking of ideas, does any one have any? I mean, I pretty much know what I want to happen, but the ending is a bit...choppy. So, any suggestions are welcome. And if this chapter sucks, feel free to tell me.

And thanks to everyone who reviewed–I'm sorry I kept you all waiting so long.

* * *

**CHAPTER 11**

**BPOV**

Mental note to self: Kill Edward the next you see him. Or at least get someone like Emmett to.

Gym was an absolute nightmare. The second I opened the double doors, Mike was next to me, questioning me endlessly about what was going on with me and 'Cullen.'

"So, how do you two know each other? I thought I heard you asking about them at lunch yesterday."

Again, I would have to kill Edward. What was I supposed to say? We hadn't really discussed our story yet, seeing as how I didn't think I'd need one this soon. And if I did, I thought that Edward would at least be here to help.

"We know each other from when we were little," I lied. That sounded so lame, but it was the best I could think of. This was me here, after all. "I didn't recognize him or his name because it's been so long, but we met at…"

Come _on_, Bella. Think of something. Where could you have met? Edward was supposed to have lived in Alaska, and you lived in Phoenix. Grrr….He was going to die.

"…camp."

Yes!! It might be believable. Maybe. Although, not even Ms. Cope fully believed us yesterday when we fed her almost the exact same lie. I doubted that Mike would believe it, too. But, he's gullible, so who knows?

"Oh, cool." Mike said. "What about the kiss yesterday? Are you two like, together? And why are you if you only know each other from when you were younger?"

"You know what? I have to go change, so I'll catch you later."

This was the one time I'd ever been thankful to be in gym. I rushed to the girls' locker room to change into my gym uniform, brushing off all the stares I got from all of the other girls. Once I was changed, I left, only to see that Mike was already changed, too. Thankfully, Coach Clapp blew the whistle then, signaling the start of class.

We would be playing volleyball today. I remember the last time I played, in the exact same day as today when things were so much different, and it wasn't pretty. This time was much, _much _worse.

Needless to say, quite a few people were injured, myself included. I gave one poor girl, Heather, I think, a bloody nose. It was a miracle Mike didn't have a concussion from how hard the ball had hit him in the back of the head, and I think Coach Clapp might have even been hurt a little from when I hit the ball straight into his knee. And it wasn't that hard of a ball. Normally, you wouldn't think these things were capable of this much damage, but, again, this was me. I myself sprained my ankle when I tripped while I was running. Wasn't life just great?

I had to be helped back into the locker room to change, and helped back to my locker. Before Mike had even gotten me outside, though, Edward appeared. And I was pissed.

**EPOV**

It didn't take long to notice that Bella had injured herself why I'd been away. I was just getting back to school, and I decided to wait for her outside of the gym when I heard Newton's thoughts, cluing me in on what happened.

_God. When she said she was clumsy, she meant it. It'll be a surprise if Coach ever allows her in the gym, much less play a sport, again. _

I silently chuckled, remembering how often and frequently Bella was able to hurt herself, others included.

_Her ankle looks pretty bad, though. Should it look that swollen? And red?_

This was all I needed to open the gym doors, walking in to make sure Bella was all right. She was headed towards the door, Newton helping her, and with her left foot lifted. When she saw me, I had to do a double take. The look in her eyes was fierce, and it was directed straight at me. Her gaze didn't even soften when I excused a less than willing Newton and helped her out of the doors myself. Her jaw was set, a frown clouding her face. I think it was safe to say that she was less than happy.

"Bella," I spoke softly, so as not to upset her further. "What happened to your ankle?"

Newton had been right when he said that it didn't look good. It was definitely sprained, possibly even broken. Carlisle would most definitely have to examine it.

"I tripped, Edward," she spat out. "And you weren't there to catch me. What else could have happened?"

We reached her locker and she wordlessly gathered her books, stuffing them into her backpack. I was shocked that her locker door didn't fall off when she slammed it, loud enough that all of the students that were already in the hallway stopped whatever they were doing to find the source of the thundering slam.

I took her bag from her, wrapping my arm around her waist for support when she tried to hobble away herself. Once we reached my car, I helped her into the back seat so that she could prop up her ankle. When I was in my seat I turned around to her, watching her for a moment as she stared angrily at the window, almost as if she could make it shatter with her glare.

"Bella," I said, causing her glare to be redirected to me. "Take your shoe off and let me see your ankle, please. I'm afraid that you might have broken it."

"I didn't break it," she grumbled, yet she complied with my request. She resituated herself in the seat so that her left leg was propped on the console between the driver and passenger seat. Her grimace was noticeable when I told her to circle her foot, and the red color it had been earlier was slowly turning a strange purplish color.

"I think you're right," I finally said. "It doesn't look broken, but I can't be sure. You're going to need to get it x-rayed. Carlisle can probably get you in and out fast." I turned back around and started the car. When we pulled out of the parking lot, I think I heard her mutter a,

"Whatever."

With my driving, it didn't take long to teach the hospital. Bella got out of the Volvo and allowed me to help her into the emergency room. I went up to the first nurse I saw and told them to go get Carlisle, or Dr. Cullen, for me. They were used to this, I supposed, so it wasn't long before Carlisle appeared.

_What happened, Edward?_

"Bella tripped in gym. I was wondering if you could x-ray her ankle. It looks like a pretty bad sprain. Do you have time?"

"Of course I do. Come with me, Bella." Reluctantly, I released my hold on Bella long enough for Carlisle to take her, calling on a nurse for a wheel chair. The entire time, Bella just sat there with the same stone cold look upon her angelic face.

**BPOV**

"Well, Bella," Carlisle said, "to be honest, it doesn't look good at all. It isn't broken, but it's a pretty severe sprain. You'll have to wear a brace for a couple of weeks."

I groaned. Not again. Apparently, not even going back in time can stop the inevitability of ending up in a hospital with a severe injury. What a shame.

Now, as I sat listening to Carlisle, I felt bad for how I'd treated Edward. Yes, I had a right to be mad, but not as mad as I was. After all, he may have had to do something _really_ important. But, to save myself any future anger, I don't even plan to ask what he did. It's not important. The only thing that's important is getting out of this stupid room.

As soon as the cursed brace was on, Carlisle wrote me a prescription for some pain medication.

"Trust me; in a couple of hours you'll need something," he'd said.

He must have noticed the look of confusion on my face. So far, the only part of this that had truly hurt was when they touched it and when I first tripped it. When I was sitting still, I was perfectly fine.

Carlisle allowed me to stand and walk around a little to get used to the brace. It was, of course, awkward. But, I guess it'd have to do. He walked me out of the examination room to where Edward was waiting right by the door. He took one look at my leg and then chuckled, looking to Carlisle. Whatever he was saying to Edward must have been funny.

"Edward, I want you to take Bella home and then get her pain killers for her."

Edward nodded and then scooped me up, the entire time knowing that I could walk on my own. Of course, this time, I wasn't complaining. To show Edward that I wasn't mad at him anymore—I hate being mad at him and he always dazzles me out of my anger so there's never a point—I wrapped my arms around him and buried my head into his chest, feigning a yawn.

"Are you tired," he asked his voice still soft and careful.

"A little," I answered honestly. "Wait, where's Alice?" I straightened in his arms. Hadn't she been with us this morning on our way to school for the second time?

"I called her while I was waiting for you. She said that she saw what happened and that she called Jasper to come get her. Everything's fine."

I relaxed back into him, enjoying the feeling.

"So," Edward said.

"So," I repeated.

"You're not mad at me?" he asked. I smiled inwardly at the worry that was evident in his voice.

"No, I'm not," I shook my head. "I'm sorry for acting like that earlier, but I was still upset that you left and that I had to play volleyball. Those poor people didn't deserve it," I laughed.

"Bella, I'm sorry I left. I know I shouldn't have, but I had a good reason. You see—"

"I don't want to know, Edward," I cut him off. "I have a feeling that I'll find out eventually and I just want to get home."

"Okay, then," he nodded. He kissed my forehead as we got to the Volvo and laid me down in the backseat. "Home it is, then."

* * *

I didn't realize that I had fallen asleep until I woke up in my bed. Edward wasn't anywhere to be seen and it was dark outside, so I figured that he'd be over anytime now. Before he got there, I wanted to take a shower, so I slipped the ankle brace off and gathered my clothes, hobbling my way to the bathroom. 

After my shower, I towel-dried my hair and got dressed—a bit sad that my matching cotton pajamas hadn't been bought yet, so I was left with the holey sweats—replacing the brace on my ankle. Figuring that Charlie would want to know why I had been asleep all day, I decided to go downstairs.

Now, being the klutz that I am, I knew that I couldn't just walk normally down the stairs with the brace. I mean, I trip even when I'm not injured, so I knew I would trip if I wasn't extra careful. Slowly, I made my way, only to hear voices as I neared the bottom. They were coming from the living room; so once again, I slowly made my way in there.

What I saw took me completely by surprise. Edward and Charlie were sitting together, actually laughing. Charlie, who as far as he was concerned had never met Edward, was sitting there actually having a conversation and laughing with him. Edward looked up when he sensed my presence, and smiled warmly at me as he motioned for me to come and sit by him.

"Hey, Bells. How are you? Edward said you took a pretty nasty spill in gym today."

"I'm fine. My ankle hurts a little," more than has earlier I noticed, "but other than that I'm fine. Um, why is Edward here?" I asked.

"He was here when I got home, told me that he didn't want to leave you alone."

"I also picked these up for you, Bella."

He handed me a bottle of pills with a strange name on the bottle. I just assumed that they were the pain killers that Carlisle had prescribed and I was thankful to be getting them.

"Thank you, Edward."

Well, wasn't this awkward. I was sitting in a room with my father and my boyfriend, unable to actually do anything that wouldn't tip Charlie off to this fact.

"We were just talking about ordering some pizza or something, for dinner, Bells. Does that sound good?"

I looked curiously at Edward, but he didn't act uncomfortable at the prospect of eating human food, so I agreed.

"Okay, kids. It should be here in twenty minutes," Charlie said when he hung up the phone.

"That's great, Ch- Dad. I'll be in the kitchen."

He nodded, already turning on the TV to most likely watch some game. Edward followed me and as soon as we were out of Charlie's sight he spun me around and kissed me. His lips lingered on mine even when he knew that he should be pulling away. Our boundaries were being crossed, and Charlie was in the next room. This was dangerous…Which is probably what made neither of us stop until Charlie actually walked in on us.

Then, we both jumped apart as if we couldn't get away from one another fast enough, as if we were scared the other had a disease of some sort. I stood by the sink, staring hard at the glass that had yet to be washed. Edward stood by the table, looking down at his feet as if they were the most interesting things he'd ever seen. My face was by far the deepest of all reds.

I took a deep breath, turning around to look at Charlie and catching the smirk on Edward's face. Charlie stood in the entryway, his face almost as red as mine. What must he think of me? To him, I'd been in Forks for three days, and I was already making out with the son of one of the most—if not _the_—respectable doctors in Forks.

Charlie cleared his throat, but it sounded more like a cough.

"I was just wondering, Edward, if you might—" cough, "—want to call you parents to tell them that you—" cough, "—were staying for dinner."

Edward looked to me and winked before turning around to face Charlie.

"Actually, sir, I think I should be getting home. It's a school night, after all, and I still have some homework to do."

"Okay," Charlie nodded.

"Goodbye, Chief Swan, Bella." He began walking out of the kitchen.

"Wait," I said. Charlie looked surprised but Edward simply turned. "I'll walk you to your car." More like hobble, I thought. I noticed that the dull ache I was feeling in my ankle was beginning to hurt more and more.

He nodded, saying bye to Charlie again and followed me outside. When we got to his car, I felt a sudden sadness overwhelm me. I didn't want him to leave.

"You'll be back, right?"

"All I have to do is drop my car off and I'll be back." He gave me a quick kiss and then he was gone. I watched as he car sped off and then sighed as I walked back into what would most likely turn into the Spanish Inquisition.

**EPOV**

I have to admit that I was surprised when Charlie walked in on Bella and me kissing. Clearly, I'd been too distracted to hear or sense him coming, but I relaxed when I heard that his thoughts were just curious. He wasn't angry, he wasn't all that surprised, but just genuinely curious.

After I left Bella's, I went straight home. Being away from her was torturous already, and I was anxious to know what Charlie had said to her once I was gone.

Alice was already laughing when I walked in the door, and the family was giving her strange looks.

_You…ha ha ha…got caught. Ha ha. Edward got caught making out with Bella! Oh, my God. Could that be any funnier? And the look on your face, Edward! Priceless. _

I smiled at her and shook my head, heading upstairs quickly to grab one of the gifts I'd gotten Bella when I had to leave school today. This would just be one of the many, and she would get one every night until Valentines Day, only about a month away. But, this date was flexible depending on whether or not I could wait until then.

When I walked in my room, I was surprised to see Avery sitting on my couch, listening to what seemed like Claire de Lune on my stereo.

"Hi," she smiled. "I hope you don't mind, but I got bored in my room and I needed to listen to some music."

"It's fine," I answered. "I'm just here to get something for Bella."

I crossed over to my closet where I'd stored the bag earlier, and got what I needed. When I turned around, Avery was standing behind me, looking over my shoulder.

"What did you get her?" she asked.

"A present," I answered, taking a step to the side. She just continued to move closer.

"Can I see it?"

"I'd have to unwrap it, and I'm already late. Bye."

I practically ran out the door, shouting goodbye to everyone on my way out. The run to Bella's cooled my mind, and I erased all thoughts of Avery's strange behavior. I was probably just hallucinating again, anyway.

* * *

**A/N: **I realize Edward was a bit...OOC at the end, but that'll be explained a little later. Maybe. If I figure it out. Oh, and many of you are wondering why Edward had to leave Bella alone. That should probably be answered in the next chapter, or the one after that. And here's a little hint at what might happen...It involves jewelry. But, anyway, whatever. Oh, and don't worry, Jacob will come into the story soon, and Victoria too. I just felt that since I kept you all waiting so long, you wouldn't want a bunch of heavy stuff right away. Review, review, review! And even if you don't, I guess I'll still post another chapter tomorrow, because that's how nice I am. 


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: **Okay , before you all accuse me of it, I am not, and I repeat _**not **_a pathological liar. I know that it seems whenever I say I'll post another chapter soon, I never do. And on my last update, I promised a chapter the next day, and here two days have passed. So, I have decided to just stop saying when I'll post another chapter, because it's pointless. Whenever I do, something always gets in my way and I'm completely unable to get to the computer for an update. What I will say, though, is thank you to all of you who have reviewed. Without you all, I might have stopped this story after the first or second chapter, which is something I still think I probably should have done since I can't even seem to update frequently enough without having problems from the stupid computer. That's the end pf my rant, but please, please, please forgive me if this chapter is choppy, just as all my others are. I tried. Oh, and review, review, review!

* * *

**CHAPTER 12**

**BPOV**

The second I stepped back through the door, Charlie was hovering over me. He wasn't saying anything, just looking. A few times he opened his mouth to say something, but then he would change his mind and close his mouth. I just went back into the kitchen and washed the one lonely glass that had been sitting in the sink, the one I'd been staring so intently at.

With the water running, Charlie was apparently given some time to think of the proper questions to ask me, because as soon as the water was off and I was drying the glass he fired away.

"Bella, what I walked in on–what was that about?"

Crap crap carap.

"What do you mean?" I asked. I highly doubted playing ignorant was going to work, but it was worth a try.

"I'm not stupid, Bella." I knew it wasn't going to work. What did work, though, was the little fact that Charlie, like me, wasn't good at expressing his emotions or talking about things that were embarrassing. Like this, for example.

"Just answer me one question: Are you going out with Edward?"

I thought about this. I could say yes, or I could say no. What would Charlie do if I did say yes? Would he be surprised that in the span of two school days, I already had a boyfriend? I guess we'd just have to see.

"Yes, I am," I answered. "Last night, when I spent the night with Alice, we got a chance to talk, and today at school we decided to give it a try. We really like each other."

Huh. I was getting better and better with coming up with these stories. Sooner or later, though, I had a feeling they were going to come back in bite me in the butt.

"Well, then," Charlie said. "I guess..." He sighed. "Just be careful, okay, Bells? He seems like a really good boy, but you never know. I was his age once."

I laughed and hugged him, a move that caught both of us off guard. He stood there awkwardly for a moment before embracing me, too. Just then, the doorbell rang and we pulled apart, both of us blushing. Again, I didn't get it from just anywhere.

"I'll go get that," he said.

"I'll, um, set the table?" It was more of a question than a statement and he nodded, going to answer the bell.

We ate dinner quickly, him because he wanted to get back to the game and me because I wanted to get upstairs where Edward was sure to be waiting. I finished before Charlie, and washed my plate while waiting for him. The second he was done, I grabbed his plate and washed it, drying the dishes as fast as possible. Charlie noted my strange behavior, but decided to say nothing on the subject, something for which I was grateful.

Since I was already in my pajamas—something I painfully decided to notice _after_ Edward had left—I simply told Charlie goodnight and began to make my way painfully upstairs. Edward was already waiting for me when I got upstairs and he took me up in his arms to stop me from any more pain. Apparently, he could sense my discomfort.

Once he laid me down on the bed, he was gone. I looked around, but didn't see him anywhere. Seconds later, he returned with a glass of water and the pills he had given me earlier. I smiled graciously at him and downed the feels, wishing the effects were immediate. Unfortunately, they weren't, so I had to wait for the pain to subside. It wasn't too hard with Edward, though.

"So, what does Charlie think?" He smirked and I knew that he had heard everything. But, I might as well humor him.

"He told me to be careful. After all, I am dating a big, bad vampire," I smiled.

There was a strange glint in his eye, but I decided to ignore it. Edward always had a strange glint in his eyes. It was part of the reason I was being constantly dazzled.

"Hmm, well," Edward said. "You were halfway right, but that is a matter that will be discussed later. I have something for you."

I groaned. Edward _always_ had something for me. In the weeks before I'd died, before Victoria was coming directly at me in her attempts to kill me, Edward would give me a gift almost every other day; a necklace here, a pair of earrings there. And, once, he rented out the only movie theater in Forks, just because I happened to mention wanting to see a movie that was currently sold out, a very rare occurrence here.

Anyway...

"Now what is it?"

He pulled a rectangular box our of his pocket and held it out to me. I glanced at it curiously and took ir from him, opening it to find a small silver charms bracelet. Only, without any charms. I looked up at him and he smiled and pulled out another, smaller box. He opened it and inside was a small charm. It was of an apple.

"It's because when I first met you, I thought of how you were forbidden to me. I couldn't entangle myself with you, or, so I thought, bad things would come of it. Much like the apples in the Garden of Eden. So, since that was one of the first thoughts that crossed my mind when I say you, I figured it should be the first charms on your bracelet," Edward explained, answering my unasked question.

I smiled and gazed into his eyes, silently thanking him. He nodded and clipped the charm onto the bracelet before clasping it onto my wrist. His cool touch made me shiver and my heart beat increased, causing a smirk to come across his lovely face.

"You should sleep," he whispered.

"But I've been asleep all day. It'll be impossible to go to sleep now."

"Bella," his soft voice chided. "You have school tomorrow and it won't be good idea if you're too tired to concentrate. You've already missed most of it, anyway, and you've only just technically started."

I sighed, but knew that he was right. After pulling the covers back, I climbed comfortably into bed and relaxed into Edward. The sound of his voice humming my lullaby relaxed me even further, and before I knew it I was asleep.

* * *

When I opened my eyes in the morning, I saw Edward smiling at me. He kissed my lips softly, and then he was gone in a flash. Probably going to get his car, I thought. Charlie was already gone by the time I got dressed and was ready, so I made my way slowly downstairs.

This morning, my ankle was hurting like crazy and after I'd showered, I took three of the pills Carlisle had given me, even thought the bottle said you were only supposed to take two every eight hours. I had a feeling, though, that I'd be needing three more in about four.

As I was pouring myself a bowl of cereal, Edward reappeared looking somehow troubled. I could see that something was wrong in his eyes, though when I asked him about it he simply kissed me so hard I forgot nearly everything I'd ever needed to know about every single subject but Edward.

"Let me do it," Edward said as I tried to take my bowl to the sink and wash it. "You shouldn't put any more strain on your ankle than absolutely necessary if you want it to get better."

I knew better than to argue, and let him wah the bowl himself. As I watched him, I found myself thanking the creator of this beautiful creature. Despite how hard I tried, I could never justify the reason that I was lucky enough to have him and his love. It was unfathomable to me how I had managed to find him. I knew, of course, that he loved me. I no longer found myself unworthy of his love, just lucky that I had it. And positively ecstatic that nothing anyone could do would ever change the way he felt about me.

"We're going to be late for school," I said as I looked at the time flashing across the microwave. Edward just looked at me, and I laughed. After all, there was no reason to worry about being late to school when your ride drove like a madman.

"Sorry," I smiled.

Edward had been completely serious when he said that he didn't want me to put any strain on my ankle. In order to get out of the house he picked me up in his arms, my backpack slung over his shoulder, and carried me all the way to his car. Well, almost all the way.

"It doesn't ever look like I'm going to get a full day at school, does it?" I murmured to Edward.

"Apparently not," he responded, his voice distant.

Because parked right behind his Volvo was no other than Jacob Black.

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry for how short this is, I'll try to make the next one clonger. And sorry for the cliffy, too. But because of the above author note, I won't say when I plan to update, just know it's soon. Maybe. Cross your fingers for me and remember to review, though. All types of criticism are welcome, as well as ideas!


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: This chapter may possibly be my worst ever. I hated to leave you all hanging for so long, and I'm leaving to go on vacation tomorrow and won't be back until Monday, so I decided to post this. Not all of it has been edited yet, so I apologize for any mistakes. When I get back, it will probably be replaced with something better. Until then, enjoy and review! Even if it sucks.**

**Oh, and it's not mine.**

**And everything in bold is what was not yet edited my lovely new beta vampirefishy because I wanted you all to have a new chapter. Without her suggestions, though, you wouldn't even have this hastily written chapter. So go thank her!!**

**Oh, and if you're reading this vampirefishy, I apologize for not sending the bold to you. I hope you can forgive me and when I get back from vacation, the next chapter will be sent to you immediately!!! **

* * *

**CHAPTER 13**

**BPOV**

Seeing Jacob was much more than the normal strange. Strange had been seeing Edward and his family after I was sure I'd died. Strange had been seeing Jessica and Mike and everyone from school looking a little younger than I remembered them. But seeing Jacob was…almost indescribable. His hair was back to its long, healthy look and Jacob looked smaller. And not only was he not as built as before, but I found myself actually saying that Jacob was short. At least, he was compared to the last time the living me had seen him.

"Bella," Jacob breathed. "You cannot believe how happy I am to see you. When I woke up the other day, I was talking to my dad about some of the stuff happening with the pack and he had no clue what I was talking about. Neither did Quil. So, then, I figured I'd come and see you but the old man wouldn't let me 'cause he thought you were still settling in and other things and that Charlie would want to spend some alone time with you, and then…I just can't believe you're alive," he finally sighed, taking a breath from his long winded speech. "I had no clue what was happening, and I still don't, but at least I know that you're here, with him, and that means I'm not the only one who remembers."

That was a lot to take in, I thought. And Jacob had been speaking so fast…It was like listening to a vampire all over again. Almost. Only a tad bit slower seeing as how Jacob _isn't_ a vampire.

I looked up to Edward for help, hoping he'd know what to do but he wasn't looking at me. Instead, he was looking past Jacob into the woods with a cautious look on his face.

"Edward," I said. He looked back down at me seeming to snap out of whatever was causing his tenseness, but his eyes were still guarded. Something was going on.

"I'm sorry. We should probably call everyone else. Something's not right. But, as for you," he turned his attention to Jacob, "there's not much you can do anymore. I'm sorry to say," but from his tone I could tell he really wasn't, "that you've come at a bad time. Bella's still in danger, and my family, as well as her guardian, are doing whatever we can to protect her. Your help isn't needed."

This, I could tell, made Jacob exceptionally mad.

"You're telling me that I don't get talk to my friend now that I'm not a stupid threat to you bloodsuckers?! Do I even get an explanation?! Or am I just going to get in the way of things?! Obviously you still don't understand how much I care about Bella; I'd never let anything hurt her. I even protected you when she chose you and the bloodsuckers over me. Without me, you and your family would probably be dead right now, slaughtered by my pack."

"You'll get an explanation when Bella's safety is no longer at risk, _dog_. Hmm…It's not as much fun calling you that when I know it's not true. Now get out of my way." Edward motioned to Jacob's car blocking the Volvo in.

"And what if I don't?" Jacob asked as his eyes narrowed and his hands became fists.

"If you don't—"

"Stop it!" I yelled. "Both of you just stop!" With some careful maneuvering, I managed to get out of Edward's grasp, limping to stand in between them, stopping them both from doing something they'd regret. Or, at least, I would regret.

"I want to know what's going on," Jacob said, his eyes pleading as they locked with my own.

"And I want him to leave," Edward growled. "Something's not right and we need to get you back to my house, Bella. As soon as possible, which translates to _now_."

**Right now, I wanted to scream. I'm serious. I had my best friend–kind of–and my boyfriend on either side of me, both wanting different things. I wanted both of them to happy, but I knew that was impossible. So, instead, I decided to make it up to someone who, in all honesty, truly deserved it.**

"**Edward, just give me five minutes to explain things to him. He won't hurt me–he can't. Things are obviously different, and I think Jake deserves to know." My eyes pleaded with Edward, and though his stance was still tense his eyes warmed up a bit.**

"**Fine. But that's it. Something's not right, I can feel it." **

**I kissed Edward on the cheek as a thank-you, and then turned my full attention to Jacob. It was hard to get my mind off of how different he seemed, but I managed. I had to if I wanted to explain things properly to him.**

"**There's not much time, and it's a long story, but basically it's all an angel's fault. She came to Edward after I died and set everything back. Unfortunately, though, Edward and I weren't the only ones who remembered. Other than you, there's Victoria, who could come and kill me again at any moment."**

"**You mean the red-head is coming back **_**again**_**?"**

"**Yes, Jacob, that's exactly what I mean. We don't know for sure, but if she remembers what we do and is smart enough to figure out that I'm alive, then I'm pretty sure she'll want to finish the job this time."**

**Jacob was silent for a moment and from the corner of my eye I could see Edward eying the woods warily. He obviously sensed something. **

"**What I can I do to help?" Jacob finally asked.**

"**Nothing," I answered. "I don't want you getting hurt, and you can't exactly take care of yourself anymore, now can you?"**

"**But, Bella, I want to help. This time I want to stop everything from happening. After you...died," he choked on the word, "I kept telling myself it was my fault. I thought that if I had done something more, then none of this would have happened."**

"**Jake, none of it was your fault," I hugged him. "But there's nothing you can do to help. So, do me a favor and just go home and stay safe, okay?"**

**Jacob shook his head.**

"**I won't just sit here and do nothing. I promise you I'll figure out a way to help."**

**Then, without another word, he climbed into the truck he was driving and drove off. I turned to Edward, surprised to find him directly behind me. Immediately, he picked me up into his arms and started running. The words he said in explanation were two of the most fearful words I'd ever heard. **

"**She's back."**

**VPOV**

**I watched the pathetic human girl from the woods, James and Laurent at my side, as she talked to some boy. He looked familiar, yes, but I didn't care. All humans needed to be recognized as were food.**

"**Tell me why–"**

"**Shut up," I hissed at Laurent. **

**I didn't want **_**Edward**_** to hear us. I knew he already sensed us, but thankfully he hadn't done anything yet but try and hurry the human up. Apparently, whatever she was talking about with the other boy was something that he didn't agree with. Maybe he was jealous. Hmm.**

**The girl hugged the boy and I saw Edward tense. So, he **_**was**_** jealous. Interesting. Too bad that soon he would just be heartbroken. Or dead. Either way, he would be in pain and I would be the one to blame. Revenge is sweet.**

"**Victoria, I want to know why we're here," James demanded. It would be suicide to tell him to shut up like I had Laurent, so instead I answered him. And I said it loud enough so that Edward would surely hear. **

"**We're here to kill the girl."**

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A/N: Told you it sucked. Now go tell me in reviews!!! 


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Hey, I'm back...don't kill me? I'm sorry I've been gone so long, but I'm yet again posting another chapter that hasn't been edited by my beta. I was too anxious to wait, though, and I'm not sure how much time I'll have to update in the coming week. You should all be happy to know that I won't be doing any more updates that are strictly author's notes, either. Sorry for putting you all through the two that I have up already, though. This chapter is not my longest, and is mainly just a filler. It's a bit...what's the word?...choppy, but I'll let you decide that for yourselves. Review, please!!**

**And thank you I Luv Pepper. Your review pushed me over the edge as far as waiting to update is concerned. And thanks to everyone else who reviewed!**

**Disclaimer: If you haven't realized that I'm clearly not Stephanie Mayer and do not own Twilight, New Moon, or the upcoming Eclipse already then, I'm sorry to say, you have problems. **

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**CHAPTER 14**

**BPOV**

"Already?" Alice asked.

We were sitting in the living room in the Cullens' house and everyone—Carlisle was on speaker phone due to the seriousness of the situation, so said Alice—was listening to Edward talk. He continued to throw strange glances at Avery, but I paid little attention to the two of them or anyone else; I was too busy worrying about dying for the second time. And, in my opinion, one time was already more than enough.

"She was hiding in the woods with her coven."

"But, it's been three days. How did they get here so fast?" Rosalie said.

"She must not have been very far," Esme offered. She was sitting next me, sending worried looks in my direction. It was nice to know that she was already beginning to care for me. "Maybe she was only a couple states away when all of this happened."

"They were in Brazil," Edward corrected. "I read their minds and _Laurent,_" Edward hissed his name, probably thinking to how I'd almost been killed by him when he'd left, "was wondering why they'd come here so suddenly."

"It doesn't matter how they got here," Carlisle said. "What matters is what we plan to do about it. Clearly, Victoria has something planned, or else she would have been here already to attack Bella, don't you think?"

"He's right," Avery nodded. I whipped my head around to glare at her.

"What do _you_ know?" I snapped. "You're supposed to me guardian, or whatever the hell you said you were, and so far you haven't been very helpful at all. First, you mess up when you set back time and so now the one person in the world that is the most dangerous if she remembers anything actually _does_ remember everything. And now, she's back because obviously you can't stop her, or anything. I mean, you're only an _angel_," I scoffed.

Everyone, and I do mean everyone, was staring at me open-mouthed. Even Carlisle's end of the phone sounded much too silent. And even though I could see Edward was shocked, I also saw the hint of a smile turning at the edge of his lips. He always thinks it's funny when I get upset, for some reason.

"Well, excuse _me_," Avery finally said, "but without me, you'd still be six-feet-under."

"And now, _because _of you, I just might be there again. And thanks for bringing me back, and all. But if it's okay with you, I think I only want to die once." I continued to glare at her, and she at me. It was like a full-out staring contest.

"Whatever," Avery said. "You can go to hell, for all I care."

Ironic thing for an angel to say.

Avery then stalked off, probably going to the guest room that Esme had fixed for her. Hopefully it was far, far way from Edward's room. There was no explaining it, but for some reason I just didn't trust Avery. It was clear that I was upset with her now, but that's because I was in danger of dying. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't have snapped at her. That doesn't mean I would have like her, though.

"Did an angel just tell Bella to go to hell?" Emmett asked, breaking the silence that had been created when Avery left.

My eyes had followed Avery out, and I finally turned from the direction she'd gone in to look at Emmett.

"I'm pretty sure she did," Rosalie breathed, almost as if she was in shock. Which, come to think of it, she probably was.

"Oh, well," I said. I stood up, somehow managing to untangle myself from Edward's grip. "It's not my problem if the angel's a bitch."

I then began walking towards the stairs, hoping to go up to Edward's room. But as you all know, trying to get away from a vampire is pointless. They always catch you.

"Isabella Marie Swan, what has gotten into you?" I was surprised to hear Esme's voice and feel her small hands on my arm, holding me back.

I turned to look at her then, for the first time ever being truly almost afraid of Esme. And not the kind of fear you should feel around a vampire, but the kind of fear you feel when your mom is yelling at you.

"What?" I asked, almost too stunned to speak.

"Since when have you _ever_ used that kind of language? From what Edward has told us, you are one of the sweetest, most caring girls anyone will ever meet. And sweet girls, from what I know, do _not_ use profanity. They don't need to, and I'm disappointed that you felt the need to seconds ago. Now, I know it was wrong of Avery to say that to you, but you have to admit you weren't being the nicest person. I don't ever want to hear you talk that way to anyone again, though, do you understand?"

I nodded, too frozen to speak. And then, I did something completely unexpected; I fell into Esme's arms crying.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. And I was.

I was sorry for everything. I never should have met Edward, because ever since then I've done nothing but mess up all of the Cullens' lives. Maybe dying was the best thing I ever did for them. I mean, I didn't deserve any of them, and I knew that. They deserved so much better than me, a frail human who does nothing but need protection and attract danger wherever she goes.

_It's not fair_, I thought. _It's not fair_, _it's not fair_, _it's not fair_. Victoria was right to have killed me.

"Oh, Bella," Esme said. Her voice was much softer than it had been moments ago. "I didn't mean to make you cry, dear. I was only looking out for you." She lifted my head from her shoulder to look in my eyes. "A pretty girl like you doesn't need to use suck ugly language. I have to tell Rosalie that all the time," she laughed softly.

I nodded, still not able to form complete sentences.

"...Not that...'S that I don't...you...and...you're all so nice...and...I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry," I cried. And I was.

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**A/N: So, Bella had a bit of a break down. If it's not obvious why, then it'll be explained in the next chapter, which will probably be up sometime next week...maybe. I would do it sooner, but my birthday is Sunday, so I've been pretty much just relaxing and enjoying my free time this week, and this weekend I will have, like, very little time to write due to various unknown things that my friends have planned for me. (If any of you are reading this, ALEX, you really should just give up and tell me!) Anyway...where was I? Oh, yeah, please, please, please review!!! It'll be an awesome birthday present. **


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: **Okay, so if you're taking the time to read this then I appreciate it. If not, and you skipped all of it to get on with the chapter than whatever. But I just wanted to thank eveyone who's reviewed. I was a little disapponted to have only gotten four reviews last chapter, but then I decided that I shouldn't care. I should just thank the people that have.

So, here goes. I would like to thank the following who have reviewed any of the chapters in A Second Chance...(Sorry that the names are bunched up. The dots mean on to the next person.)

**r0b0tic vampire... Misty680654**

**lizabeth92392... Prpurpledragon**

**xxlullabyxxx ... SmilinSmiles**

**Gorf15... Mandy1485**

**bronzehair topazeyes... oceaneyes85253**

**forks girl... iluvreading**

**Your Tiny Dancer... 4Edward's-Eyes-Only**

**OTF4545 ... xiWouldStillDieForYou **

**synthetic-Love-hearts... littlemissallison**

**Padfootrules3... Elenial Idhrentari**

**Klutzy55... Jexena**

**You're my Brand of Heroin... Aleakim91**

**Belle07... I Luv Pepper**

**ima-wicked-awesome-vampirate**

And last, but not least, **vampirefishy**, my awesome beta. Come back when you can!

And to any of you reading this ridiculously long-kind of-author's note, I thank you, too! Please, please, please review!! And if U have forgotten anyone above, I apologize. You can hit me later. And this chapter is, again, a filler. The plot comes in next chapter...maybe. Still don't know if I really have one of those yet. Just know something big happens, okay?

**Disclaimer:** Honesltly, you still don't know that I don't own it? And I thought _I _was slow.

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**CHAPTER 15**

**EPOV**

Bella, _my_ Bella has just completely broken down. There she was, wrapped in Esme's arms crying more than I had ever seen her cry and I was just sitting there, watching her like an idiot. Had I been smarter, I would have run to her immediately and not needed Alice's help.

_Hello?! Edward, go say something to her. Don't just stand there like you're frozen, or something. _

But I was. That was the problem. How was I supposed to fix Bella if I couldn't get her to talk? Yes, I've seen her throw her fits where she cries and screams and whatnot, but those were nothing, and I repeat nothing like this.

Slowly, I made my way to Bella and Esme. Esme looked up at me and angled Bella's body so that I could freely embrace her. She seemed not to notice the change, though, for she was still crying like the world was ending.

_Take her upstairs, Edward. I'll bring her something to eat._

I nodded at Esme and scooped Bella's legs into my arms, making sure that her arms were wrapped securely around my shoulders. At a human pace, so as not to upset her further, I walked Bella upstairs to my room and placed her on the couch. She curled into herself the second I set her down, but with some difficulty due to the brace on her leg.

The brace!

I didn't even think about that until now. When she went to come upstairs earlier, she might have hurt it more. She didn't look too worried about it then, though.

To make her more comfortable, I went to my closet and grabbed a couple of blankets that were stuffed in the back. I took them and gently placed them under Bella's leg, moving it so that it was now straight instead of curled into her like the rest of her body.

Yet again, she still didn't seem concerned with anything around her. All she did was cry. And cry and cry and cry. After so long I actually thought that _I_ was going to cry. I hated seeing my angel in pain like this, but I was too scared to say anything for fear of making whatever was wrong worse.

In the end, though, my curiosity and need to know what was wrong won out.

"Bella," I said gently. "Please, stop crying. Tell me what's wrong."

"Everything," she sobbed.

I pulled her other leg down so that her face was no longer hidden. She looked so beautiful, yet the pain in her eyes was hard to miss. My hand reached out and brushed her hair to the side so that her face was visible.

"Tell me exactly what, though. I want to help." I whispered.

"But you can't," she shook her head, tears still falling from her eyes. At least she wasn't hysterical anymore. "You can't help, Edward. How can you when you're not the problem–I am?"

"What?!" I exclaimed.

"Edward, ever since I've met you I haven't caused anything but trouble for you and your family. You've all risked your lives for me so many times, and I can't do anything except get into more trouble. You shouldn't love me. None of you should. And most of your family doesn't cause they don't know me anymore.

"It hurts so much, Edward! I look at your family and you and think how wonderful you all are and then I try to see me with you all for the rest of eternity. And it's a happy picture, but one that'll never happen. Nothing happy can come from me being in your family. And now there's another reason I'll never join your family–they don't know me!

I thought having that whatever-you-want-to-call-her down the hall would help things. When I opened my eyes and saw that I was in the cafeteria, I was terrified. And then I saw you in the hallway and everything seemed so much better. I thought this was going to be our second chance at everything. You're family could get to know me without having to put their lives on the line first and then everything would be perfect! But it's not!"

She broke down into hysterics once more.

"Everything would have been better if I'd stayed dead!" she wailed.

I froze in place. Everything she'd been saying was preposterous, but this drew the line. How on Earth could she even think that things would be better if she were _dead_!

"Isabella Marie Swan! Don't you ever say that again! I don't think I've ever heard a bigger lie in my entire life. Bella, if you were dead I'd still be broken. The world would go on, but I wouldn't. My world would be infinitely darker and much emptier because you _are_ my world. Without you I am nothing. I can't breathe. I can't see. I can't hunt. I can't function without you, Bella. And to hear you saying suck a thing breaks my heart.

"Soulless, vile, wicked, unworthy creature that I am I love you, Bella. Nothing can change that. You are the absolute best thing that has ever happened to me. And, believe it or not, my family loves you as well. They protect you because they want to, not because they have to."

Bella looked into my eyes, her big brown ones seeming to be depth less pools of love.

"I love you, Edward. And, in my opinion," she sniffled, "you're soul is as big as your heart, and your as far from vile, wicked, and unworthy can be. Because you have me, and I have you. And that's all that matters, right?"

My lips turned upward in only the smile that Bella can get out of me.

"That is all that matters for now, and for an eternity."

I cupped her face in my hand and carefully brought her lips to mine. It was a soft, tender kiss. One full of love and promise.

"Tell me something," I said as we pulled away. I ran my thumb underneath her eyes, wiping the remainder of her tears away.

"Hmmm?" she murmured slightly dazed from the kiss, I presume. Her heartbeat had yet to calm down

"Do you think I'm going to make the same mistake twice?" I asked her.

"No, of course not. Why?"

"Then you have no reason to worry about Victoria."

To my surprise, Bella laughed.

"Edward, Victoria is definitely something to worry about, but do you know what's so funny about it?"

"What?" I asked, truly puzzled.

"Well, Victoria wants to torture me and kill me and all that awful stuff, but I'm more worried about Avery than Victoria."

"Bella," I shook my head, "that makes no sense. None at all."

She shifted on the couch, making room for me to sit next her. I stood from my kneeling position on the floor and did so, graciously wrapping my arms around her small frame.

"For some reason, I just don't trust her, Edward. It's not something I can explain. Call it my intuition or whatever, but I don't get a good feeling when I'm around her. For one thing, she's a pretty angel who kissed my soulmate. For another, she said I could go to hell, and angel's really shouldn't say that to people. Especially not to the person they're guarding. She's not nice."

"Bella, Bella, Bella," I laughed. Her reasoning was a little questionable, but what could I say? "You are so...so...wonderfully, amazingly cute!" Well, there you have it. I guess that's what I can say.

And before she could say another word I closed the short distance between our lips and enjoyed the sound of her heart fluttering erratically. As long as we were together, I could honestly believe that everything would be okay.

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**A/N**: Bella and Edward may be a little OOC, and you're probably thinking: where's Esme with the food? Lol. Well, Esme's a bit distracted at the moment. To be continued... 

WHEN THE CHAPTER ENDS, YOU WILL PRESS THE PRETTY REVIEW BUTTON. ON THE COUNT OF THREE.

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REVIEW!


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Hey, I'm so extremely proud of me for updating already. I think this is one of my longest chapters, too. This is not a filler, but nothing extremely big happens from the start. The next chapter will be one of the most important, though, so read and review! **

**And thanks again to all those who have reviewed in the course of a day. Lol. I got 10 reviews yesterday and normally I go five or six days without updating and get maybe 5 reviews, so thanks for that! **

**Disclaimer: For the love of all things good and holy, would you get your eyes checked! My name is _not_ Stephanie Meyer and I do _not_ own Twilight. Other than in my dreams, of course. :-) **

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****CHAPTER 16**

**BPOV**

The longer I sat with Edward in his room, the more I thought about how rude I had been to Avery. It's true I don't like her, but I still had no right to take my anger out on her. But, then again, she did tell me to go to hell.

"Edward?"

"Yes, Bella?"

"Was it unfair of me to say all those things to Avery earlier?"

"You weren't being all that nice to her, but I'm sure she understands why."

I looked up at him questioningly.

"Edward, she's an angel and told me to go to hell. I don't think she understood. And even if I don't trust her, it was wrong of me to be so childish. She gave you and me a second chance to be together, and I haven't thanked her once for it"

"Then go thank her if you want to," Edward smiled.

I nodded, and Edward moved off of the couch so that I could stand up. He smiled at me once more and then suddenly his expression changed into one of confusion.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I was about to ask you if you wanted something to eat, and then I remembered that Esme was supposed to bring something up over an hour ago."

"How about you go check on that while I apologize, okay?"

He nodded and then kissed my hair before walking out, leaving me alone in his room. After about a minute of preparing myself and many deep breaths I walked out of Edward's room in search of Avery. That's when I realized I had no idea where her room was. Luckily, I didn't need to look because a few seconds later she stepped out if her room. Which I quickly noticed was only across the hall and over from Edward. Not far enough, at all.

But that's not why I wanted to talk to her. If I wanted to thank her and apologize, then I had to at least _act_ genuine.

"Avery? Can I talk to you?"

She was closing her door when I asked her and she turned her head to look at me, already looking a bit hesitant.

"Sure," she sighed. "What about?"

"Well," I walked closer, "I just want to apologize for throwing that fir earlier. It wasn't necessary." I took another deep breathe. "And I wanted to thank you for giving Edward and me another chance. Even if it hasn't been the best one so far. We're still together, and it's all because of you. So, again, thank you."

Hmm. That wasn't as hard as I thought. After all, I _was_ thankful that I wasn't dead anymore.

"Um, you're welcome?" The way she said it was more like a question. "I was just doing my job."

"Okay," I nodded. "Um, so, yeah. That's all I needed to talk to you about."

"Okay."

The silence we were left in was awkward and after another minute I excused myself and went back to wait on Edward. I skimmed his CD collection, noting which CD's were missing since he'd yet to buy them and some had yet to be released. When I found Debussy I slipped it out of its case and carefully slid it into Edward's CD player so as not to break anything. As the soft sounds filled my ears I made my way over to the couch and laid down, closing my eyes.

And then I heard voices in the hallway. They were unusually loud since I was in a house full of vampires with super-hearing. My eyes snapped open and I got up to go investigate the cause of the unwelcome noise. I cracked the door open and saw Avery, Edward, and Alice.

Edward was holding a tray of food for me–so sweet–and Avery was standing in front of him. They were arguing. Alice looked like she was acting as the mediator in their disagreement, trying to get them to stop talking so loud.

"If she hadn't been a brat then I wouldn't have said that to her," Avery said.

"All I said was that you should be more considerate. She has a lot to deal with right now. I say one thing to you, and you suddenly think I'm out to get you," Edward said.

"Would you both move on, please?" Alice pleaded. "Jasper is trying to read a book and I am trying to think. Which is hard to do with you two bickering,"

"Then tell him not to roll his eyes at me," Avery said, not once taking her eyes off of Edward.

Avery acted a little immature for an angel, I thought. Fighting with Edward for trying to help me.

"Would you please not talk to me through my sister? I'm right in front of you. But, if you'll excuse me, I have to go take this food to my Bella."

"Okay, I know you're soulmates and all, or whatever, but what's with this whole '_my Bella_' thing. She's not a possession."

I liked Edward calling me his. He was mine. We belonged to each other. Why was she making such a big deal over nothing? She was acting like...me.

"Both of you just stop," Alice said. "Avery, you should go wherever you were originally going and you, Edward, should go take Bella her food."

"Oh, of course. Because this entire family just revolves around Bella," Avery rolled her eyes.

She was reminding me of someone right now, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Oh, wait a minute. Lauren.

At this point, Alice looked very frustrated. She sighed and then turned around to walk into her room when she suddenly stopped in place, her hand on the door. Her back was turned but I knew what was happening. She was having a vision. Edward, of course, was too busy glaring at Avery to notice.

"Edward, go into your room now! Avery, come with me!"

She spun around to grab Avery's arm and then and dragged her past Edward back into Avery's own room. Edward looked confused, but shook his head as if to shake off his problems. Uh-oh. He was literally seconds away from opening the door.

I closed it as quietly as possible and then made my way over to his CD's again. When he opened the door I was pretending to skim through them and acting like I didn't notice he'd come in. But the excited beat of my heart gave me away and seconds later I felt his arms encompass my waist and pull me closer. He buried his head in my neck, inhaling.

It tortured me how close he was and how little we could do. Just this simple gesture had me craving for more.

"I know you were watching," he murmured into my neck.

"Watching what?" I breathed.

"Avery and I. And I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything in the first place."

"Edward, you were trying to help me. You have nothing to apologize for."

"Fine." I could feel his smile on my skin. To my dismay, he pulled away and spun me around to face him. "I brought you your food. And I found out what was taking Esme so long."

"What?"

"She forgot that she'd already given the food she bought to the food drive, so she had to run to the store. And then she got distracted and almost burned the pizza. She made it from scratch." He motioned to the plate that sat near the couch and I smiled. Esme was a fantastic cook.

"Yummy."

I ate the pizza quickly as Edward watched, occasionally making small comments on how beautiful I looked. Every time I would roll my eyes and continue eating. When I was done, the plate was gone–along with Edward–before I could even blink. He returned just as quickly as he'd gone.

"Do you want to go to the meadow?" he asked.

"Of course," I smiled. "But what about Charlie? The school is sure to call him. I've missed half of my school year already."

"Carlisle has that all taken care of, don't worry."

So I didn't. Edward picked me up and carried me downstairs, saying goodbye to his family on the way out to the Volvo. Within a minute, we were on our way, my hand intertwined with his as he drove. It didn't take long to get there, and when we did Edward picked me up again. Only instead of running on his back, I ran in his arms with my legs wrapped around his waist and my arms around his neck. It was easier to ignore the trees when I was looking at Edward.

When we arrived in the meadow I smiled the biggest I'd smiled all day. I'd missed it so much. None of the flowers were in bloom, and it looked more like a winter wonderland without the snow, but it was still just as beautiful. Edward sat down and pulled me onto his lap.

"I missed you so much," he murmured, kissing my hair.

"So I've heard. Edward?"

"Yes?"

"Why are we here? I mean, I love it here, but what about Victoria? I wasn't thinking about her when I said yes."

"I asked Alice about her before we left. She said we'd be fine. And I'll be able to sense her if she comes anywhere near us."

I nodded and relaxed into Edward's arms. I loved this time I got with him, when we didn't have to say anything, just be together. He ran his nose across my collarbone and I let out a slight moan that cause him to chuckle slightly. My heart was out of control, and so was I. I pulled Edward away from my neck and smashed my lips to his.

He didn't pull away, either. My hands ran through his hair and his through mine. Our kisses hadn't been chaste since this second chance, thing and for that I was grateful.

"So sorry to interrupt the lovebirds," a voice said. I froze in place. "But I was getting rather tired. To be so in love you two are awfully boring."

I closed my eyes, hoping that I opened them again this would all be just a dream. A horrible, horrible dream. But it wasn't. Because when I opened them nothing had changed except Edward's stance. He was no longer under me, but instead standing in front of me, growling.

"It's amazing what you can do when a member of your coven has the power of stealth, isn't it Edward?" Victoria purred. "It can make one's sister miss what's there. Or make it hard to be sensed. It's so very helpful."

Laurent and James stood behind her, their eyes as black as coals. Both were staring straight at me.

"What do you want?" Edward growled.

Victoria laughed.

"And I thought you were smarter than that. After all, isn't you who can read minds? I want her," she said, nodding towards me.

"Look, your mate is alive so you have no reason to go after her. Unless you have a death wish."

Edward crouched, looking like a lion about to attack its prey.

"Yes, but the fact still remains that previously I didn't have him. And for that you deserve to suffer."

She shifted to match Edward. "James, Laurent, get the girl."

And the last thing I remember after the two male vampires coming towards me was a thundering crash, followed by darkness.

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**Everyone, run away screaming! Victoria's back! And something is up with Avery...but you'll have to find out what happens next time, I guess. I may be generous and update later tonight...but, of course, by later I mean 2 AM, so good luck with getting a new chapter before then. Lol. It might help if you press the pretty button, though...**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N:** OKay, I tried to get this up as soon as possible, but my mom was on the computer and it's hard to write and IM your friend at the dame time, so I tried. And I did get it up before 2 AM. It's only a little after 1:35. Lol. But I'm proud; I got two chapter up in less than 24 hours. Yay me! I hope to have this done by July, that way it's finished long before Eclipse comes out in August. No gaurantess, though, as this is far from over. I think. Lol. I'm not sure yet.

Thanks for all the reviews I got! Hopefully, I'll get more by tomorrow, after all the last chapter hasn't even had a day to sit yet.

**Disclaimer**: If you haven't figured it out by all the other disclaimers then I highly doubt anyone can help you.

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**CHAPTER 17**

**EPOV**

When Victoria sent James and Laurent to get Bella, something inside me snapped. I'd never felt the way I did now. There were times, of course, when I so protective of Bella I was on the verge of killing someone, but never like this. I'd never wanted to kill someone so badly, torture them until they begged to be killed and then rip them into the tiniest possible shreds and then burn the shreds, only to resurrect them and kill them all over again, only maybe a bit more painfully.

I pounced on Victoria, grabbing her arms and pulling the skin from them. She merely smiled at me and hurled me back into a tree.

"You should know by now not to mess with me, Edward. It's not very smart."

She ran at me, but I moved just in time, causing her to put out her hands in an attempt to stop herself from colliding with the tree. Her e effort were in vain, because she hit the tree with a thundering crash, causing it to fall over. If she;d been mad before she was absolutely livid now.

Before she could run at me again, I ran at her and pinned her to the ground. As she struggled to get out of my grasp I turned my head slightly to look for Bella. She was laying on the ground unconscious, James and Laurent standing over her. They were arguing over who would get her, and James was clearly about to fight.

Not thinking of Victoria at all, I ran at James, sending him flying a good hundred feet. I turned to Laurent and began to do the same, but I was suddenly lurched forward as Victoria jumped on my back from behind. She scratched my face, but rather than succumbing to the pain I threw her off. She wasn't as strong as me, not by a long shot.

I turned to face her as she picked herself up off of the ground. But she never made it, because I kicked her right back down.

"Leave us alone!" I shouted. "Go, and maybe I'll let you live."

I was lying. If she was stupid enough to believe me, to leave, then I would just track her down later. She didn't deserve to live.

"In your dreams," she laughed.

Her hands grabbed my foot and thrust me back. She stood and crouched again, but I did nothing. If she wanted to fight then we would fight. She hadn't seen anything yet. By the time I was done with her she'd regret ever stepping foot in Forks again.

But before I could do anything I heard a low growl behind me followed by a scream. I turned to see Laurent and James both being ripped apart. By two werewolves. They didn't seem to be concerned about me, and I knew it was dangerous–they could turn on me–but I didn't care. All I cared about was getting Bella out of there.

I knocked Victoria out of my way one last time and then scooped Bella up, running as fast as I could, not really caring where I was going. I was sure that the wolves would handle Victoria, and sure enough ten minutes later after I'd stopped to check on Bella, I saw flames emancipating **(A/N: did I use that word right? It's late and I can't think straight, so excuse me if I used it wrong)** from deep in the forest.

"Bella," I shook her. "Bella, wake up. Everything's going to be okay. Just open your eyes."

She made no response that she'd heard me, and I wondered exactly what had happened to her while I'd been fighting Victoria.

The leaves rustled, causing me to jerk my head in the direction of the noise. I saw two russet wolves approaching me slowly, so at least I wasn't in danger of being attacked. Me against two wolves would not have been pretty. Right before my eyes, the two wolves transformed and I had to blink twice before I could be sure I wasn't hallucinating. In front of me stood Sam Yuley and...Jacob Black.

"Is she okay," he asked, looking at Bella.

"I don't know," I answered. "Thank you, though. Without you two, I probably would have been dead."

"So it's safe to assume they weren't members of your coven," Sam Yuley said, always the one to be businesslike.

I shook my head. "How are you...?" I trailed off as I qustioned Jacob. He shrugged.

"I got angry enough, I guess. And I remember everything Sam taught me before all this happened."

_I didn't tell him everything, and he still want to know who the hell I am and why, if I know everything, I'm helping a vampire. But, just so you know, this is a one-time thing,. I still don't like you. Much, anyway. _

I nodded. "Thank you again for your help, but I really need to get Bella to a hospital. Let's agree to forget about all of this? The treaty still stands, correct?"

Sam nodded and we shook on it.

_Let me know what happens with her, though, okay? If she's not okay I'll personally take it out on you,_ Jacob thought. I nodded again. Jacob Black wasn't as bad as I thought he was.

I ran as fast as I could to the hospital, praying that Bella was okay. She didn't look like she had any visible injuries but she refused to wake up, and I was worried about her health. Her heartbeat sounded slower and her blood smelled weaker. This wasn't good, not at all.

**BPOV**

My eyes opened to see the white tiles of a hospital ceiling. I knew I was in a hospital before I even looked around because I could feel the needles pulling at my skin and hear the beeping of the monitors I was hooked up to.

"She's awake," I heard a voice say. It sounded like...Avery. My eyes focosed to see that it was, in fact her. In my room stood Avery, along with Alice, Edward, Emmett, and Carlisle...and...Jacob?,

"What happened?" I asked. My throat was dry and scratchy.

"They killed her," Alice smiled. "Edward, and Jacob, and Sam killed them all!"

I smiled at Edward and Jacob, wishing that words could describe how thankful I was for each of them. But I couldn't, so instead I just said "Thank You."

"Well, I was just wanting to see if you had made any progress, Bella. But I gotta get back to the reservation. I still have to explain some things to Billy." He gave me a small hug. "I'll let Edward tell you all the details. He's not so bad, after all. Be good."

I stared after him, even after he'd left completely confused. Did Jacob just say Edward wasn't so bad? Edward and everyone laughed at my reaction.

"Am I hearing things?" I asked.

"No, but I'll explain all that later," Edward said.

"Can someone tell me why I'm in the hospital?" I asked.

"You had a sever anxiety, or panic attack," Carlisle said. "You stopped breathing altogether and probably would have died had you been brought in any later. In your unconscious state, you began breathing again but the rate at which you were doing it was slowing. Pretty soon, you would have suffocated altogether."

"Oh."

"You scared me," Edward murmured. It was then that I noticed his clothes and how beat up he looked His hair was still messy and there was a scratch along his face, but at least he'd changed clothes and showered. In the short time it took for me to realize this, everyone else had filed out of the room to give us some privacy.

"How long have I been here?"

"Only about twelve hours."

"What about Charlie?"

"Carlisle called and said that you felt sick this morning, so you came into see him. And then you had the panic attack. Carlisle blamed it on excess stress from your recent move."

"And he believed that?" I laughed.

"He had to. At least you didn't have any physical injuries, other than a couple of bruises from when you fell."

I sighed. "What happened? And why are you and Jacob suddenly not at each other's throats anymore?"

Edward sat on the bed next to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. As he went into his story, I relaxed into his embrace, gasping in all the right places. By the time it was over I was glaring at Edward for trying something so stupid as to go against three vampires alone. Even if it was because he love me and just wanted to protect me, it was stupid.

We lay in each other's arms for a long time just being happy that our troubles were truly over now. James, Laurent, _and_ Victoria were gone. And the Volturi didn't know about me, so they were no longer a threat. After abiut half an hour just laying in the silence, I moved my arm and stopped. My bracelet was gone, and I was sure I'd been wearing it in the meadow.

"Edward, what happened to my charm bracelet?"

He smiled and the glint that had been in his eyes when he'd given it to me returned.

"I have it," he answered, continuing to smile at me.

"Um, can I have it back?"

He nodded and stuck his hand in his pocket. When he handed my bracelet to me there was no longer simply the apple charm. There was a lion, a lamb, a book, a bouquet of flowers, even a car, and then there was a sun and a moon.

"Oh, Edward," I gasped. "They're beautiful, but what are they for?"

He explained that the book represented my passion for reading, the flowers because, to him, I was the most beautiful flower in the world, and the car was self-explanatory, along with the lion and the lamb. The sun and moon, however, were different.

"I planned to wait until Valentines Day, and it would have been better if you weren't in the hospital, but I just couldn't wait any longer. The sun is you, it represents the world you came from and the moon represents the one I came from. But without one, there cannot be another. Bella, I can't live without you. Trust me; I've already had to try. Neither of us can survive without one another, and I feel that we should make it official. Not now, of course, but after graduation, as originally planned. This way, your family can get to know me better, anyway."

"Edward?" I smiled, interrupting his speech. "Is there a point to any of this?"

"Oh, yes, sorry." He took a deep breathe and reached into his pocket again, pulling out a red velvet box. My breath caught in my throat. "Isabella Marie Swan, will you do me the honor of being my wife and granting me with your presence for the rest of eternity?"

Did I even have to think?

"Yes, I will." His lips covered mine for a brief second and then slipped the ring onto my finger. I didn't even look at it, though; I was too busy kissing Edward. It would be a long wait, over a year, but at least then Charlie wouldn't be so against the idea of it. He might even give Edward his blessing. Until then I'd just have to hide the ring, but I could care less. I was getting married to Edward Cullen!

Suddenly the door swung open and in stepped Avery.

"It's not fair!" she shouted. "It's not fair, it's not fair, it's not fair!" And then she lunged at Edward and I on the bed.

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Avery's got some major issues. Don't we all, though? Lol. Press the button to make me happy! I won't be able to updat again until Monday, but I'll try to swing by the library to use one of their computers since I don't have internet on the weekend. So, if I like the reviews I get I may just try my hardest to get another chapter up by Saturday. But I'm going to go relax now, so goodnight!


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N**: Hey, for once I actually updated when I said I was going to. Please excuse any mistakes in this chapter, or previous ones. I'm not editing them as well as I should, but once everything is done I will go back and fix all of those little mistakes. Thank you all for your reviews, and I promise to work extra hard to finsifh this up soon! But I won't be able to update until most likely Thursday, but I'll try as hard as I can to get another chapter up before that.

And all of you who had suspected Avery was up to something: Way to go! Lol.

Don't forget to review!

**Disclaimer**: I give up!

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**CHAPTER 18**

**BPOV**

I closed my eyes, preparing for the inevitable, the impact that was to be made when Avery collided with me. But it never came. When I opened my eyes I saw Emmett and Jasper holding her back with little trouble. As she struggled and kicked her feet, both of my brothers just smiled at Edward and I.

"Alice had a vision," Jasper said.

"Wait until you hear this," Emmett laughed. "It's hilarious."

Just then, as if on cue, Alice and Rosalie walked in. Rosalie glared at Avery, almost like she had glared at me when we first met, and Alice looked smug.

"Would anyone care to tell us what's going on? Or at least unblock your minds," Edward said.

"Why don't you let Avery explain? Even with my vision I don't know all the details. Just that Avery isn't who she says she is."

Everyone looked at Avery–who by now had realized struggling was pointless–and her face paled.

"I don't what you mean," she lied. "You're all crazy."

"It wasn't us who just tried to jump Bell and Edward just for getting engaged," Rosalie growled.

"Oh! I almost forgot! Congratulations!" Alice exclaimed, running to hug both Edward and me. I had expected this reaction from Alice, but the timing was a little off.

"Congratulate us later, Alice, we have bigger things to worry about." Edward rolled his eyes but I could see the smile pulling at the corner of his lips.

"Oh, right. Jasper."

A calming feeling came over the room and I knew exactly what was happening; Jasper was using his gift to make Avery talk. Unfortunately, the feeling was spreading through the whole room, making everyone a little drowsy.

"Focus, Jazzy," Alice smiled. He nodded, focusing all his attention on Avery.

"Okay, okay! So, technically I'm not an angel."

What?!

"Then what are you?" Emmett asked.

She sighed, "I'm a fallen one. I'm a fallen angel."

Um, okay. So, my guardian angel was a fallen angel?

"And I'm not really Isabella's guardian. I made that up."

That makes more sense. So just five minutes ago a fallen angel tried to jump me because of Edward. The fallen thing would also explain why she so easily told me to go to hell. Because, from what I knew, she was going there, too.

"Why?" Alice asked. "Why did you make something like that up?"

"Well, I _was_ an angel, and at first I was supposed to be assigned as Isabella's guardian as soon as I turned back time. But then things changed. I disobeyed orders because...because...I love you, Edward." She looked up to meet his eyes and there were tears threatening to spill from her blue eyes.

Of course, my immediate response was to start laughing. She glared at me.

"Shut up!"

I looked at her. "Why? If you loved him, then why did you bring me back? Things would have been a lot easier id you'd just kept me dead. That was your mistake."

"Bella," Alice cautioned, "be careful. Fallen angels aren't completely human, either. They're–"

"Demons?" Avery smiled at me. The smile on her face was the most wicked smile I'd ever seen, and the saying 'if looks could kill' came to mind. It was filled with a certain malice not even Victoria could have matched had she still been alive. If there was a fight between these two, there was no doubt in my mind that Avery would win.

Before anyone could process what was happening, Jasper and Emmett were being thrown across the small hospital room and through the wall, landing in the next room which was–thankfully–empty. Then Avery turned on Alice and Rosalie who were already preparing to fight. Without even the blink of an eye, Avery was hurling them through the same wall with a seemingly invisible force. And that same force kept all four vampires down.

Edward, who was next to me, was already approaching her but she didn't see him. She was curling herself up into a ball, whispering words that were foreign to me. As I sat there and watched her, the only thing I could think of was my future family and their safety.

Just as Edward was about to touch her, an exlposion of blackm red, and white lights came protruding from Avery's back, blinding me and knocking Edward down. When I was able to look again, I saw Avery crippled over, writhing as a set of wings pushed through her shoulderblades. As they grew larger, the pain became worse and she started creaming in agony. Finally, with one last scream she was silent, and her wings opened.

If you've ever seen an angel's wings before, it was nothing like this. Her previously solid wings took on a cetrain glow, causing them to become almost translucent.How could something so beautiful cause so much pain? And at that moment, I couldn't deny that not all monsters were hideous.

In an instance, the colors were gone, as was she. We were left with a destroyed hospital room and five dumbfounded vampires. Not including me, the completely helpless, amazed, and infinitely confused human.

"What happened in here?" Carlisle's voice boomed, interrupting my thoughts. He was standing in the door, looking around the chaotic room. I'd never seen Carlisle look so out of control. It was rather funny, actually, but I was too shocked by what had just happened to laugh.

"Avery happened," Emmett snarled, clearly mad that he had been beaten by her.

"What do you mean, 'Avery happened'? A simple girl cannot do this much damage!"

"That's because she's not a girl, she's a demon," Jasper said calmly.

Carlisle closed his eyes and placed his fingers to his temples. Vampires get headaches?

"Someone please explain to me what is going on."

And so we did. Or Alice, Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper did. Edward was busy holding me and calming me down. Not that I needed it tremendously, but I was still just a bit shaken. Wouldn't you be?

Victoria is finally gone, the Volturi aren't a threat anymore, so now a demon has to be after me? Edward was right when he called me a danger magnet.

Carlisle sighed when it was all over and walked over to me to begin unlatching the wires I was hooked up to.

"Apparently this isn't a stress free environment. In fact, it's worse. Edward, I need you to take Bella back to her house. Everyone else will go and see Esme, work out a plan. I'll meet you _all_" he looked at me, "back at the house after my shift to discuss what to do. Until then, I don't want anyone opening any doors, lock all the windows, and keep your phones on at all times. If even the slightest thing happens, call each other and then me, do you understand?"

Everyone, including me nodded. I was in for yet another long day.

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**Hmmm...wonder where Avery went? If you press the pretty...blue? purple? whatever...button, you may find out!**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: **Hey, I know this isn't Thursday, but please don't kill me. I've been having makor writer's block and plus when I got home Wednesday night, I was exhausted. Now I know why I've never volunteered to babysit before and am oh-so-thankful I'm an only child. But, anyway, on to more important subject, I don't think there will be many chapter left. Maybe two. There's no point in doing Bella's wedding since it's so far off, and I don't kno how I'm going to end it yet, so...yeah. And unless I get any ideas for a sequel this will be the end of Bella and Edward. This time, anyway. And sorry for any mistakes, I'll do my best to correct them later, but I think that my writing is aweful so if I go back and read it then I am very tempted to go and delete it all.

And you can see a picture of Avery, Bella's charm bracelet, and her wedding ring on my profile.

**Disclaimer: **Go look at all the other chapters.

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**CHAPTER 19**

**BPOV**

Edward took me back home and I sighed in relief when I realized Charlie wasn't there, but at work. This meant Edward could stay. On the ride home I had finally gotten a chance to stare long and hard at my ring, and I surprised Edward by leaning over suddenly to kiss his cheek while we were driving. In fact, the car even swerved a little. That may have been the first time ever I actually surprised Edward so much he lost all sense of concentration.

Now, as I sat in the kitchen watching Edward attempting to make me something to eat, I admired the ring. It was classic and simple, nothing too fancy. The band was gold, fitting my finger perfectly and matching the beautiful triangle-shaped topaz stone in the center, surrounded by tiny diamonds on either side. I was absolutely in love with it. Unfortunately I couldn't openly wear it. Edward heard my sigh.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his voice anxious. "Do you not like it? I can take it back and get another one."

I stared incredulously at him. "Edward, I randomly kissed you in the car because it's so beautiful. That's not the problem."

"Then what is?" he sat down next to me, completely ignoring the fact that he had pancakes–yes, Edward was making me pancakes–cooking on the stove. He lifted my gaze from my ring so that I was looking into his eyes.

"I'm sad because I can't wear it. People will know what it means, and then they'll start questioning us. So, until next year, this beautiful ring is going to have to see the inside of my jewelry box."

A wicked grin crossed his face. "Not necessarily."

"Edward, what am I supposed to do? If I wear it then everyone will think I'm marrying a person I've known for all of a week."

"But what if you didn't wear it where people could see?"

I stared at him quizzically, silently telling him to continue.

"You can always wear it around a chain, you know? That way it's always with you." And like magic, he was producing a gold chain from his pocket. He slipped my ring off of my finger and onto the chain, fastening it around my neck all in a matter of seconds.

"And see," he said, tracing the chain, "it's long enough so that it will be hidden by most of your shirts." His hand stopped where the ring landed on the outside of my shirt, accidentally grazing my chest. He leaned in, then, his face getting closer and closer to mine. I thought my heart was going to explode. And then, just as his lips touched mine he stiffened and turned around in the direction of the stove.

He rushed over to the burning pancakes and tossed the pan to the side, turning it off completely. I laughed at the look of astonishment on his face. For once, Edward Cullen had finally done something wrong. In the past three days, I'd managed to distract him to the point of letting Charlie catch us, swerving his precious car, and now burning my breakfast.

"Stop laughing, Bella. It's not funny." Edward frowned. I continued to laugh, though.

I stood up from my chair, being careful not to hurt myself as I made my way closer to him. "But it is funny, Edward. Don't you see? _I_ can dazzle _you_ instead of the other way around. Now I'm not the only one who forgets every single thought in when you simply breathe on me."

Edward pulled me closer, holding me to him and gently pressed his lips to mine. The kiss lasted a mere second but it still left me dazzled.

"Isabella Marie Swan, don't you ever doubt your ability to dazzle me. You do it ever second of every day by simply being here with me, a monster," he said. His soft, warm eyes were filled with grief and I sighed.

"Edward, don't start. We're happy, we're together, and we're engaged."

He smiled and nodded. "Isabella Marie Masen Cullen. I love the sound of that. I just wish we didn't have to wait."

My smile matched Edward's as I thought about what he had just said. We were engaged, and in a little over a year I would be a Cullen. Hopefully in more ways than one. Absolutely nothing could go wrong.

But, of course, like in all movies–are you sure I'm not in one, 'cause all the drama sure fits into one–once someone says nothing can go wrong, things tend to go wrong. Thankfully, in ours though, it wasn't immediately.

Edward and I had a pretty good day for the most part. He remade my breakfast and served it to me in bed because he said I needed to rest. And then we spent the whole day content with each other's company. Sometimes we'd talk, sometimes we'd kiss, but mostly we just stayed with each other in the silence. After all, it felt like forever since we'd just gotten time to ourselves like this.

It was a little after five when things started to go wrong. Edward and I had been listening to music on my CD player when the power went off, submerging the entire house in darkness with absolutely no light coming from outside due to the stormy weather.

"Edward?" I asked, my voice shaky. For the power to go off wasn't an unusual occurrence, but considering everything that's happened lately I thought I had the right to be a little more cautious.

"Don't worry, Bella. The storm probably knocked the power off. Do want to come with me while I see if I can fix it in the fuse box? Or would you rather stay here?"

"I'll stay here. But hurry, okay?"

"Okay," he said and I saw his shadow nod. He bent down to kiss my head and then walked off, leaving me alone.

I know it wasn't the best thing I've ever done, but I decided that I needed a flashlight. So I got out of bed and tried to make it over to my closet. Now, anyone with sense can tell you that when you have a leg brace on, it's dark and all you can see are shadows, and you tend to have balance problems that you probably shouldn't move, much less look for something like a flashlight.

But, this is me and I really don't care about all that stuff. Which is probably how I ended up face down on my floor after tripping over some object on my floor. Carefully, I picked myself up and stood still for a while, hoping that my eyes would adjust a little more before I started to move again. No such luck, though, and I finally gave up. There was no point in looking for the flashlight when I couldn't see anyway, and it was a lot safer to stay in bed. Besides, when I fell my leg landed a funny way, and it was starting to hurt a bit.

"Edward, can you bring a glass of water and my pills when you come back?" I asked in my normal voice, knowing that he would hear me.

"I'll be right up!" he shouted loud enough for me to hear.

Settling back into the bed, I closed my eyes and waited. After a few minutes, I saw some light from under my eyelids. Edward had finally gotten the lights back on. I smiled and sat up, opening my eyes and expecting Edward to be in front of me with my pain killers. But he wasn't the one in front of me, and the lights weren't on.

There stood Avery at the foot of my bed, her wings casting an ethereal glow like that of Edward in the sunlight across the room.

"Shh.," she whispered. She reached down and cupped her hands over my mouth. "It'll make things worse for Edward if you scream. I don't want to hurt him, I love him. But I will if I have to. Do you understand?" Her voice was low so that he wouldn't hear her, so low that I could barely hear her.

I nodded, my eyes wide. What did she plan to do to me?

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you if you cooperate. Not yet, anyway. Now, close your eyes." I did as she said. "Good girl. You're not half as stubborn as the rest of your family says you are."

My eyes shut even tighter. What had she done to the Cullens? I would never forgive myself if something happened to them.

"Again, don't worry. Your silly little family is fine. You'll see them soon. Just keep your eyes closed and everything will be fine."

It was obvious that Avery could read my mind, and this was unsettling. Had she been able to read my thoughts this entire time?

"Yes, now stop thinking. It's getting annoying."

I guess that answers it. I could feel her lifting me from the bed and then I felt the wind and rain on my face and knew immediately we were flying. The only question was: Where to?

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**A/N: **Muhahaha...What's going to happen to Bella now? And what about all the other Cullens? More importantly, where the heck is Edward at a time like this? I highly doubt it took a vampire all that long to get the power back on. But, oh well. You'll find out maybe Thurday ( I'm babysitting again ) or whenever I recover from that. It might help my recovery time if you press the pretty blurple button (thanks **I Luv Pepper** for that word! I forgot all about it. ) So, go do that now...I mean, what else is there to do? 


	20. Oops

**Okay, I just realized a mojor mistake I made.**

**I kind of forgot that when I went back and deleted the author's notes, it would screw up all the chapter reviews and updates. **

**So sorry for any confusion, and if I knew how to put up the Author Notes again, I would but I can't. **

**And I tried to put this in the summary, but for some reason even with enough characters left, it won't let me change it.**

**Which left me with the only option I could think of, which was writing another Author's Note, even though I said I wouldn't do that individually without an update again. **

**The good news is (depending on who you ask) my mom's car broke down so I'll probably be able to update tomorrow instead of babysit, seeing as how I don't have a license yet. **

**Anyway, it's late--2:05 AM, Monday night, Tuesday morning depending on how you look at it--so I'll let all you awesome and loyal fans get some rest. 'Night!**


	21. Chapter 20

**A/N: **I've run out of all my authentic excuses...So let's just say it took me so long 'cause my cat ate my flashdrive, 'kay?

Anyway, I feel really bad for not updating in a while and there was a lot of confusion with reviewing because I was stupid and deleted my author notes, so it messed everything up. I'm not sure, but I think this chapter might fix it. Maybe. If not, then I understand why I won't have many reviews. But if it does fix things, then I have one thing to say: REVIEW!!!

If you do, I'll even be nice and thank you! Lol.

This chapter probably could have been seperated into two, but I , again, felt bad so I decided to just go ahead and post it all. Sorry is it's confusing, too. I think my way of thinking may not be like everyone else's, so I say and write things that other people end up not understanding at all.

Oh, well, enjoy! And review to tell me how bad it is!

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**CHAPTER 20**

**BPOV**

When I no longer felt myself moving, I took the chance to open my eyes. As I had guessed, we had stopped. Avery stood in front of me, the look on her face one of pure annoyance.

"I can't believe he chose _you_," she spat. "Clumsy, annoying, average little _you._ You can't even go a week without being hurt in some way, can you?" she asked, motioning to the brace still on my foot.

I chose to say nothing in fear of angering her further. Who knew what she could do to me?

"I can do a hell of a lot worse than your ankle," she answered my unvoiced question. She came closer, then, putting her hands over my foot. Her eyes closed in concentration, and seconds later there was a glow coming from her hands much like the one emanating softly from her wings.

The pain in my ankle began disappearing, going from an intense sting to merely a dull roar. And then, it was gone altogether.

Avery opened her eyes, uncharacteristically smiling. "You can probably take the brace off now."

I nodded, not knowing what else to do or say to her sudden mood change. Where were we, anyway? All around me was darkness, the only light source coming from the angel before me. If you could call her that anymore. Upon closer inspection and as my eyes adjusted to the darkness I could make out shapes in the distance. They were that of trees and soon I realized we were in a forest of some sorts. Time must have passed quickly, because when I'd first gone with Avery the sun had still been high in the sky—it was covered by clouds, but still there. Now, I couldn't even see the moon. All above me were the towering forms of more trees.

My thoughts were pulled from where _I _was to one of more importance: Where were the rest of the _Cullens_?

"For the love of God! If you want to know something just ask, already! Your thoughts are rather annoying."

"Then don't listen," I retorted, surprised by my boldness.

"If only it were that simple." The smile she flashed was haunting.

"Can you read everyone's mind?" I asked.

"For the most part. Other vampires are somehow immune, though. That just adds to Edward's charm. He _is_ a mystery. But a lovely one, for sure."

It angered me knowing she thought of Edward like that, in a way that no one else but me had a right to. I decided to keep my mind on other matters, though. She had said Edward was okay, so I had to believe her. For now.

"Fine. Where is my family?"

"Their safe, not to worry. Do you wish to see them?"

I was cautious. Something about her—other than the small detail that she had kidnapped me—worried me. The look in her eyes implied that she wasn't sane. On second thought, she probably wasn't.

"What's the catch?" I asked.

"No catch. It's just a simple question. Do you, or do you not, wish to see your family?"

"Do you swear you won't hurt them?"

"On the bible," she smirked.

"Yes, then."

"As you wish." She snapped her fingers and the scene around me suddenly changed. I was no longer in a dark forest but instead at the Cullens' house, in the front yard. My eyes were wide as I looked at Avery. If she could do this, then why did she bother kidnapping me and taking me into the forest?

"Because then I would have transported Edward, too. And we wouldn't want that, now would we?"

I shook my head, afraid to even speak.

"Go in," she ordered. "I should warn you, though. You won't be able to get back out once you enter. Not unless I let you out, anyway. It's best if you listen to whatever I say, or else your dear Edward…Well, I can't guarantee what will happen to him, Isabella. Say hi to Emmett and Jasper for me, by the way. They're fantastic kissers," she winked. And with that, she was gone.

Slowly, I walked into the house thinking about what Avery had said. What the hell was that about and when had she kissed Jasper and Emmett? And why?

I shook my head trying to dispel all the questions that were forming in my mind. When I made my way into the living room the first thing I noticed was Emmett and Jasper on one side of the room and Rosalie and Alice on the other, glaring at their spouses. Carlisle and Esme sat huddled on the couch, whispering to each other.

"Um…hi?" I offered meekly. You could cut the tension in that room with a knife it was so thick.

"Bella! You're okay!" Alice exclaimed, rushing over to give me a hug. "I was so worried that that…_thing_ had gotten you. I had a vision, but it was all black. I couldn't see anything but you and her."

"I'm fine," I assured her. "What about you all? Are you okay?"

"Bella, we're fine," Esme's calm voice said. "You should know not to worry about us."

"It's a habit, I'm sorry. What happened, though?"

"Well," Carlisle said, "we're not sure. All I know is that one minute I'm at the hospital and the next I'm here with a house full of emotional teenagers. They've yet to fill Esme and me in on the specifics. But every time one of us tries to leave, we end up in another room of the house. It seems that Avery placed some sort of…charm, if you can call it that, on the house so that we can't leave."

"What about you, dear?" Esme asked. "What happened to you?"

"The power went out at Charlie's, so Edward went to go fix it and then Avery came and told me not to do anything. The next thing I know, we were in a forest and when I asked about you she brought me here."

"What about Edward?" Carlisle asked.

"I'm not sure," I whispered, realization dawning on me. I hadn't even bothered to ask what she planned to do with him. It was true, she said she didn't want to hurt him and that he was safe. But...it was stupid of me not to even ask.

Alice's eyes glazed over, then. She was having a vision. When her eyes opened she looked at me and frowned.

"Bella, I think you might want Jasper and Emmett to explain the extent of Avery's powers. It might come in handy when you see Edward."

**EPOV**

I heard Bella trip upstairs and I chuckled. She was so clumsy, yet by far the most beautiful creature to ever grace the planet.

"Edward, can you bring a glass of water and my pills when you come back?" I heard her ask. She must have hurt her ankle again when she fell.

"I'll be right up!" I shouted.

For some reason, the fuse box was giving me problems. All the other lights on the street were still on, so it couldn't have been the storm. I was sure that it had to have been a fuse, but nothing was working. Maybe the fuse was blown and needed to be replaced. And if that was the case, then I'd have to leave to get one. Unless Bella knew where Charlie might happen to have a spare.

Oh, well. It could wait. Surely there were candles somewhere that we could light until the power came back on. I grabbed the glass of water that Bella had asked for and grabbed her pills from the table before continuing upstairs.

When I got to her room, I noticed that the door was closed. That's funny, I don't remember closing it when I left, and why would Bella need to close it? Slowly, I cracked the door open, hoping to see Bella lying on her bed peacefully, staring at nothing in particular or with her eyes closed. But that's not what I saw. Instead, I saw an empty bed and an open window.

"Bella!" I called, hoping it was all a mistake. She couldn't be gone, not again. This was too much like the last time, when Victoria had taken her. _But Victoria's dead_, I reminded myself.

_But Avery isn't._

"Bella!" I shouted again. "Bella, where are you!"

I was careful not to break the glass when I sat it down with the pills. Bella had to be somewhere in the house. She couldn't have just disappeared, not again. And Avery couldn't have taken her. My family would have called to warn me, right?

"Edward?" I heard a voice come from behind me. It was _her _voice. My Bella's.

I spun around to see her there looking curiously at me and I didn't think twice before sweeping her into my arms and holding her tight. I thought I'd lost her again.

"Bella," I asked, pulling away from her and grabbing her shoulders quite forcefully . "Where were you?"

"What do you mean?" Her eyes were fearful. "Edward, you're hurting me."

I released her immediately, turning away. Something was wrong. "Bella," I said slowly. "Where were you when I called for you?"

"I was in the bathroom," she answered. Lie. I spun around to face her again, looking closely at her face.

Something about her was different. It might have been the sound of her voice. It was higher or lower than usual, I thought. No, that wasn't it. It was her eyes. They weren't as telling. Bella's eyes gave so much about her away, and now they were empty of any emotion at all. The big brown pools I were so used to were gone, replaced by two shallow, cold irises.

"Why didn't you answer me, then? You could have at least let me know you were okay."

"I'm sorry," she whispered, tilting her head forward to look at her feet. That's when I noticed it; the brace was missing.

"Why did you take your brace off, Bella?" Her head snapped up and her hair swirled around her face. Her scent was wrong, too. It was too strong, not at all like her usual scent.

"Um, it was getting annoying."

"Why is your window open, then?"

She glared at me.

"What's with all the questions, Edward? Don't you trust me?" She stepped closer, placing her hands on my chest.

I wasn't sure if I should. I was almost one hundred percent positive that the girl before me was most definitely not Bella . "Of course I trust you, Bella," I smiled, deciding to play along for now. "I love you."

The girl in front of me smiled. She had know idea I was on to her. How stupid she must have thought I was. I loved Bella far to much to be tricked by an imposter. Whoever was trying to trick me clearly didn't know how much I was obsessed with Bella. A little too much, most would say.

"I love you, too. I'm sorry for scaring you."

"All is forgiven, love. Don't worry."

The girl leaned forward slowly, her eyes seeming to bore into mine as if asking permission to kiss me. I leaned in to meet her lips and the girl's eyes closed. I knew exactly who I was kissing, then, and it certainly wasn't Bella.

It was Avery.

* * *

**A/N: **Most of you already knew it was Avery. I thought I needed to do that in Edward's POV because you needed to know what was happening with him. I'm debating whether or not to do part of next chapter in Avery's POV just so you can see how messed up she and her way of reasoning is. Review to let me know, cause if you don't tell me then I guess I'll foget the idea altogether.

By the way, the Emmett/Avery, Jasper/Avery thing will be explained next chapter. But just think about it, and you'll know what happened and why Rose and Alice were mad at them. And don't forget to REVIEW!!!


	22. Chapter 21

**A/N**: Wow. I know, I know. Two chapters in less than a day? And before midnight, too! She must feel really guilty, you're probably thinking.

And the truth is that I am. Because I'm not going to be here all next week. My Youth Pastor called right after I posted Chapter 20 and asked me to come on a mission trip with the church youth next week, and I just couldn't say no. (How's that for an authentic, but still very true, excuse!?) So whatever I update this week will be it for, well, a week. Maybe longer, because it takes a while to write stuff. Although, I did do this chapter in less than half an hour. Which should explain why it's shorter than the last and why it has any mistakes that it may have in it.

So, here you go! Enjoy, and don't forget to review!

* * *

**CHAPTER 21**

**BPOV**

"So, what I'm hearing is that not only can Avery snap her fingers and appear somewhere, heal wounds, and read human's minds, she can basically shape shift into other people?" I asked incredulously.

"Yes, that's what we're telling you," Jasper nodded. "It seems she posed as Alice and Rosalie to trick Emmett and me into giving her more information about you."

"They couldn't even tell the difference between a demon a demon and their own wives," Rosalie scoffed.

"She looked just like you, Rose!" Emmett bellowed. "And I swear all we did was kiss!"

"Which is more than Jasper can say," Alice said, glaring in his direction.

"Alice, Rosalie, it's really not their fault," Esme soothed. "I'm sure you two would have been just as convinced if Avery had posed as Emmett and Jasper. Don't take it out on them."

"Alice, sweetie," Jasper cooed. "I promise, we did more than kiss but we didn't get much farther than that before you walked in. You know I love you and only you, and if I had known that the girl in front of me wasn't you then she wouldn't even have gotten a kiss. I reserve those for you and you only."

There was a smile pulling on the corner of Alice's lips and before long she was resting her head on Jasper's chest, his arms around her small frame.

"Rose?" Emmett pouted.

"We'll discuss this later," she said, but the cold undertone that had been there earlier was gone and Emmett smiled and nodded.

"So can someone tell me why I had to know all that?" I asked.

"Oh! I almost forgot! I had a vision of Edward and, well...He didn't know it wasn't you, Bella. She tricked him."

My mind went blank. That meant that...

"So...?"

Alice nodded. "I'm sorry, Bella. But it was only a small little kiss. And I'm sure he'll figure it out before long."

I gave a small nod since I didn't know what else to do. Edward was with Avery now, and although he didn't know it was her it didn't make things any better. She was still getting the kisses that _I _should be getting and hearing the words that only _I _should be hearing. It killed me to know that he was probably with her right now, whispering how much he loved her.

_But he thinks it's you_, a small voice in the back of my head reminded me.

That was true. He was, in reality, saying how much he loved me and nothing could change that. I fingered the ring on the chain around my neck and smiled. Hopefully, I would find a way out of this soon. I didn't know how long I could go without seeing Edward before I went insane.

"So what do we do now": I asked.

"The only thing we can," Carlisle answered. "We wait."

**EPOV**

Somehow, Avery was able to pose like Bella. And she thought she could match Bella's scent, too, but she was wrong. Nothing could trick me when it came to Bella.

"I'm sorry I couldn't get the power to turn back on. You wouldn't happen to know is Charlie had a spare fuse anywhere, would you?" I asked, knowing she wouldn't know the answer.

"I'm not sure," she frowned. "But it's okay with me. We can just sit in the dark. I don't mind," she whispered seductively, bringing an imitated blush to her cheeks.

"Okay, then," I managed, all the while dying inside to know what she'd done with my Bella. The real Bella.

Continuing to play along though, I picked Avery up in my arms and carried her over to Bella's bed, lying her down and climbing in with her. Just like I did with Bella.

"Are you still scared of Avery?"

She stiffened momentarily, and I thought that she might say something to give herself away. But she quickly regained her composure and shivered instead.

"Edward, could you close the window? It's freezing in here."

I groaned inside my head. She was changing the subject!

"Why was it open in the first place, Bella?" I asked as I got up to shut it, returning back to Avery as quickly as I'd gone.

"The wind must have blown it open," she sighed.

Right. The wind, which isn't even that strong tonight, blew a locked window open. And I thought Bella was a bad actress.

"Oh."

We lay in silence for a while, not saying anything to each other. I was thinking of a way to get her to tell me where Bella was without having to just come out and ask her. Then I remembered something Carlisle had said earlier.

"Come on, Bella." I picked Avery up in my arms again. "It's time to go."

"Where are we going?" Her voice was anxious.

"To my house, of course. Remember, Carlisle wanted to meet with us all to discuss what to do about Avery?"

"Oh, yes. I remember," she squeaked. "But, um, I don't feel good. Can't you just call him and say we can't come?"

"I'm afraid not," I smirked. "I would hate to disappoint my father. And I'm sure Alice would love to see you again. She and Rosalie haven't even really gotten a chance to discuss the wedding with you yet, and I'm sure they're just dying to start planning it."

For a moment she smiled, probably having some sick little fantasy about me marrying her. As if that would ever happen. Before she could argue any further, while she was still in a daze, I began walking down the stairs and out of the door. I didn't even bother to take my car, but instead I just started running. I don't think I've ever run faster, except for that awful day when Bella was taken by James.

"Edward!" Avery screeched. "Edward, stop! Stop! Put me down, put me down!" She began kicking and screaming, causing my pace to slow a little.

"What is it, Bella?" I shouted over the pouring rain.

"I'm going to be sick! And I'm getting all wet!" she replied, burying her face in my chest.

It took all I had not to drop her. Instead I kept quiet, opting not to say anything until we were closer to my house. As the big white house came in sight I looked down at Avery and grinned wickedly.

"Oh, really? But, I didn't know you could get sick. After all," I said as we got closer and closer to my house, until we were just step away from the door. When she screamed again I kicked open the door and threw her to the floor. "You are a demon, aren't you, Avery?" I spat.

"Edward!"

I turned to see the girl of my dreams coming towards me and I smiled. And as Bella, the one and only _real_ Bella, threw herself into my arms, I forgot all about the imposter lying beneath our feet.

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**A/N: **I don't really think this chapter went well, but I tried to write as much as I could before I went to Drama Rehearsal. So, please forgive me and this chapter for how rushed it seems, and remember to review! Even if it is just to tell me how bad it is! 


	23. Chapter 22

**A/N: **This is the last chapter that I will post before I leave for my trip, so I'm sorry for how short it is but I have very little time to prepare for my trip, much less write, since I only found out Monday (?) that I was going. And I still don't even know what I have to bring other than the basics yet. Lol. Oh, well.

This chapter would be so bad without the help of my new beta, Uncertain Destiny. She helped me more than she probably knows and saved me a lot of trouble. Writing is a lot easier when you know that you have someone else to check over it after you do to catch what you didn't. So, with that said, here is this very short, but much better than the last, chapter. (Did that even make sense? Lol.)

And thanks for all the reviews, especially the ones that were honest in telling me that the chapter needed work!

**Disclaimer: **Did I even put this in the last few chapters? I can't remember. If not, who cares? I think I've made it pretty clear that the only character I even kind of sort of own is Avery.

* * *

**CHAPTER 22**

**BPOV**

Everyone was sitting around, trying to figure out what to do next time we saw Avery when there was a loud crash in the next room.. Immediately, everyone raced in the direction of the noise. There, before me, stood Edward, glaring at Avery from her position on the floor. She looked wet. And angry.

"Edward!" I cried, running into his arms. He was safe! He was safe!

I knew there were better things to worry about--for instance, the fallen angel on the floor--but all I could think about was that Edward was safe!

"Oh, Bella. My sweet, irreplaceable Bella," he murmured into my hair.

"I hate to break up the reunion," Rosalie interrupted, "but we have things to do."

Right. Avery.

A blush spread to my cheeks as I pulled away from Edward, embarrassed by our public display of affection. Rosalie was right, however. We needed to do something about Avery, and fast.

I looked down at Avery lying on the floor and realized that she didn't look anything like me, not anymore at least. Instead, she looked wet and sick, depressed. Her hair was matted to her face and her eyes were sad. Not even she deserved to be so sad. After all, she was, at one point, an angel.

"Why did you do it? Why do you _keep _trying to hurt me, to break Edward and me up?" I asked, my voice warm and curious. I wasn't really even mad, anymore. I just wanted to understand. "You could have kept Heaven, but instead you chose to fall, forever damned to roam the earth as a demon."

"Because I love him," she sobbed, pulling her knees into her chest. She looked almost like a normal girl. "It isn't fair. In Heaven, I didn't have anyone. I knew Edward loved you before I even agreed to offer him a second chance, but I didn't know the extent of it. In that one kiss, when I set everything back for the two of you, I felt it all. Instead of just seeing it from above, I actually felt the emotions you have for each other. If I thought I knew love before, I was wrong. The passion, intensity, pure lust I felt was amazing. Like nothing I've ever known before.

"And I wanted to feel things like that. I wanted a person who could cause those feeling in me, and vice versa. I fell in love with Edward and his ability to care so deeply for you. If he could love you so easily, so much, then I thought he would fall even harder for me, no problem. You're human, after all. And I'm graceful, intelligent, beautiful...I wanted him to love me back. But he didn't even look twice at me.

"All he could think about was you, Isabella, his angel. He had an actual angel in front of him, and he still compared you to one. So I got tired of it. I was forming a plan to make him forget you and fall in love with me. I even tried to set things back again, to where he'd never even met you and so he didn't remember a thing. That way, maybe I'd have a chance. But since I'm not a 'good' angel anymore, I lost that power."

She looked up into my eyes. Tears ran down her face as she spoke and I actually felt sympathy for her. All she wanted was love. Was that too much to ask for?

Okay, correction. I almost felt sympathy for her. That was, I did until I saw the smirk on her face and the evil glint in her eye behind all the tears.

And to think I almost believed her!

"But what I lost was nothing compared to what I have gained." The previous glint was now accompanied by a matching smirk, the tears completely gone. You could practically see the gears turning in her head as she thought. "Bet you can't tell who's who. It'll be sad if you get rid of the wrong girl."

Faster than even a vampire could blink, she was gone, taking Alice with her. Seconds later she returned, Alice returning with her as well. But she the problem was that Aver looked _exactly_ like Alice. So, here I was, with two Alice's before me and both of them wearing the exact same clothes, makeup, and worried look. And we were expected to get rid of, or possibly kill one of them?

I did the only thing I could. I fainted.

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**A/N:** So, yes, Bella has fainted due to the shock of seeing two Alice's and not knowing which is which, all the while knowing that if they pick the wrong one that there will be major consequences.Again, so sorry for the shortness. But just look at it this way: when I come back Thrusday, I think, I'll work _extra_ hard to post an _extra _long chapter by the weekend. No promises, though, because it'll be one of the harder chapters to write. After all, it'll be the chapter where something is finally done about Avery. Yay! Oh, and it would be really nice if when I came back I saw my inbox full of reviews. So just push the pretty **GO** button and review! 


	24. Chapter 23

**A/N**: So, um, what has it been? Two, three weeks since I've updated? And I am so sorry about that, too. But writer's block is really hard, and I wasn't looking forward to writing this chapter, especially with all the excitement of Eclipse coming out in only a little over a week! But, this chapter is finally here and I hope you'll all like it. Like I said, this was very hard to write, because when Avery turned into Alice last chapter, I even surprised myself. Anyway, the important part is that I found out how to fix it, so...Read and review! Read and review! Read and review! I think you know what to do.

Oh, and thanks to my beta Uncertain Destiny. Without her, things might not make as much sense.

And thanks to Tfanatic. She's the only one of my best friends who actually took the time to read and review A Second Chance, and for that I think she deserves to be, um, thanked. So, yeah. On to the chapter!

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**CHAPTER 23**

**EPOV**

Before Bella could hit the floor, I had her in my arms and on the couch in the living room. Her breathing was regular, as was her heartbeat, thank God, so she would probably gain consciousness soon. I lifted my head to glare at Avery before I remembered that I didn't know who was Avery and who was Alice. My family surrounded the two, making sure both kept a safe distance from Bella.

_Edward._ My gaze moved to Jasper. _The one on the left feels more anxious than the other. It's hard to tell, though. The other one is worried and sad, but I can't tell which Alice is Alice, _he thought uncertainly. It was hard for him not knowing who his own wife was.

_Edward._ Rosalie was shooting questioning looks in the direction of both Alice's. _Can't you just read their minds? You'll be able to tell who's who then, right? I don't want to do something to Alice not knowing it's her. It would literally tear this family apart._

I was shocked that Rosalie was being so selfless, but was interrupted yet again by Alice. Or Avery.

"Is Bella going to be okay?"

Instead of answering her I tried to read her mind to see what she was really thinking, like Rosalie had suggested. But I drew a complete blank. It was the same with the other Alice. Somehow, both of their minds were blocked.

"It's like Carlisle said. Bella is under too much stress and this little _situation_ is taken care of, I think it would be best if she was left alone to rest."

Everyone nodded and I excused myself, deciding to take Bella upstairs to my room. Everything was going horribly wrong. This was supposed to be our chance to start over, and instead things are turning out almost exactly the same. At least the first time we went through this Bella wasn't constantly fainting. Nor did she have a demon after her.

I laid Bella across my couch and draped a blanket across her form. Though I didn't want to, it was necessary to leave her. My family needed me more, and as long as the danger was downstairs she would be fine.

Back downstairs, I was surprised to find that Alice and Avery had been placed on the couch, where it appeared that they were being interrogated by my family.

"—did we do for our tenth wedding anniversary?" Jasper was asking.

"There's no point in asking them that," I said before they could answer. "She was an angel. She knows everything about us. Therefore, what Alice knons, Avery knows."

"But–"

"Yes, Emmett, she even knows things the real Alice doesn't, but she won't tell you that she does."

_I wonder...Edward, you said Avery knows everything about __**us**__. But what of the outside world? I'd never thought I'd say this, but Alice's extreme love of shopping just may come in handy. It seems that, while you were at Bella's and Avery was here, she was quite confused by all modern-day things. When Alice asked her if she wanted to go shopping earlier, Avery almost looked pleased. And then Alice mentioned that there weren't many good stores in the mall at Port Angeles, but that the Abercrombie & Fitch was okay. She started at Alice as if she was speaking a foreign language."_

What Carlisle was thinking was slowly beginning to make sense. Avery, as an angel, had been focused clearly on the lives of others, but not nearly as much focus was put into the details such as names and brands, or even the year and time-period. Come to think of it, the outfit she showed up with on her first day, boots included, resembled something one might have worn in the seventies.

Alice, however, was so obsessed with all things new that she somehow managed to get most things before they were even released to the public. All things clothes, to be more specific. If we were to ask questions about fashion, things only Alice would know, then we might catch something in each answer to tip us off. Or tip Rosalie off, seeing as no one else in the family knew fashion like those two.

"Rosalie, could you please come with me?" I asked as I headed into the kitchen, reaching for a notepad and pen. I wasn't taking any chances.

"This better be important because if it's not then you should be in there helping us—"

**I have a plan.**

Once she saw what I'd scrawled across the notepad her eyes lit up in understanding.

_What is it? _It wasn't necessary for her to use paper seeing as how I could read her mind.

**Carlisle realized that Avery was a bit behind when it came to all things modern.**

**We think that by asking them questions about fashion, Avery's sure to trip up at **

**least once. This is where you come in. None of us know half as much about **

**whatever you and Alice get when you shop, so it's up to you to ask the questions.**

_That's perfect But what are we going to do when we find out who Avery really is? Are we going to kill her or what?_

**How do you kill a demon?**

_Point. Come on, we can think about what to do to the bitch later. Right now it's more important to know where she is in this house. And by that, is she on the left or right._

Rosalie had already returned to the other room as I stayed in the kitchen, ripping the paper I had been writing on to shreds. Like I said, we were taking no chances.

Deciding that Avery could wait just a bit longer, I went upstairs to check on Bella once more. When I got upstairs to my room I saw that she was awake and trying to sit up, but failing miserably. After I'd been watching her for a few minutes, she finally gave up and with one big sigh collapsed back into the couch.

"Having trouble, are we?" I asked. She twisted sharply around to see me and smiled.

"Just a little. Can you help me downstairs?" My face clouded over.

"Bella, I'm not sure that's a good idea."

"Why? Do you know who Avery is yet?"

"No, and that's exactly why I'd rather you stay up here, away from her."

Bella sighed and attempted to sit up again. "Edward, whether you help me or not, I'm going downstairs. Though, it would be a whole lot easier if you would just help me."

Without hesitation I crossed over to her and slipped an arm around her waist as she slipped her arms around my neck. It was either this or risk Bella collapsing from straining herself too much again, and that was not an option.

**BPOV**

On the way downstairs, Edward had filled me in on what Carlisle's plan was. It was very clever, although I wasn't sure it would work. It seemed too easy. And so far, nothing about figuring out the mysterious ways of Avery had been easy. Once in the living room, I saw Avery and Alice–still not sure which was which–sitting side by side on the couch with the other Cullens sitting in various positions throughout the large room. All except Rosalie, who was standing directly in front of the couch.

She glared at Edward, to which he nodded. "Right, then. We can get started." Edward nodded once again and moved to a chair, siting down and placing me in his lap.

"Started on what?" One of the Alice's asked.

"You should have already seen it," Jasper said calmly, smiling as if he'd discovered some hidden treasure, "_Alice_."

Oh.. The real Alice probably would have already seen what was about to happen, so she shouldn't have asked that question. I made a mental note that that one was on the right side.

"She's affecting my powers, somehow. I can't see anything." the same one whined. Alice didn't usually whine, either. She was bubbly and wouldn't let much bother her. That was two strikes. Wasn't it three strikes and you were out?

"Save it," Rosalie snapped. "I'm going to ask each of you questions one at a time. You," she turned to the one with two strikes already. "What year was Diesel founded and by who?"

"1978 by Renzo Ross," Two Strikes smiled.

"Lucky guess," I heard Rosalie mumble. She turned to No Strikes. "Who–"

Everyone was suddenly silenced by a soft humming coming from the corner. But it wasn't the humming that first caught our attention. It was the glow, much like the one Edward had described when he was retelling his first encounter with Avery. There was a tall form inside the light, and soon the figure was revealed fully.

The man that stepped towards us all was about as tall as Edward, although maybe a little shorter. It was hard to tell. If it weren't for the light that he arrived in, you would never have been able to tell he was a supernatural being.. His hair was dark and tousled, and he was wearing a simple t-shirt and jeans. He looked like your average teenager. In fact, he looked a lot like Edward, the only difference being the color of his hair, really, and like Avery and the Cullens he was unnaturally beautiful. His eyes were the color of emeralds and for a moment I wondered if that's how bright Edward's eyes were when he was human.

"Where is Avery?" The gorgeous creature's voice pulled me from my thoughts and my head snapped to the girls on the couch. Both were looking, wide-eyed, at the new arrival. But only one of them was crying. And everyone knew angels couldn't cry.

No Strikes, or I guess you could now say Avery, jumped up from the couch and ran into the arms of the boy.

"Oh, Christian! What are you doing here?" She buried her face in the boy–Christian's–chest and when she lifted her head she was no longer posing as Alice, but had returned to her natural appearance.

All of the Cullens looked on in confusion as Christian placed his hands on either side of Avery's face and pulled her closer to him. "I came for you. I heard what happened and I couldn't believe it. What did you do, Avery?"

"I'll tell you what she did," Rosalie snapped. "She tried to destroy this family and kidnapped by brother's fiancé. And all because she claimed to have fallen in love with the idea of being in love because she never had been."

"That's not true." Avery spun around to face Rosalie. "I said I didn't have anyone, not that I didn't love anyone. What I meant was that no one loved me back the way I wanted to be loved."

"Avery, why didn't you tell anyone," Christian pulled her back to face him. "Instead you get yourself into this unfathomable amount of trouble and get thrown out of Heaven."

"I wanted to tell you," Avery said. "But I was afraid this would happen either way. No matter what I did I was always going to get thrown out, Christian. You and I both know I didn't belong there."

"But–"

"I am here as Fallen and a Fallen I will always stay. I am bound to Earth until my dying day but that day will never come. I live forever and I chose this as my home."

"But if you had told me sooner, Avery, I could have helped you. You didn't have to choose to live here, or to harm this family's life."

"How could you have helped me, Christian? I fell in love."

Christian shook his head. "Not with anyone down here, though, am I right?"

Avery dropped her gaze to floor and nodded. "Yes," she whispered. "You're right. As always." A small smile appeared on her face before she remembered what they were talking about. "I fell in love with someone up at Home, but they never showed any indication that he even liked, much less loved, me back."

Why did this all seem somehow very familiar? To an extent, anyway. I looked at Edward to see him smiling at me, and we both knew what the other was thinking. It was clear that Avery loved Christian, and from the way he hadn't let go of her since he arrived, I would say he loved her, too. As I looked around at the other couples in room I saw that their faces had all softened. Rosalie was still upset with Emmett, and Alice was slapping Jasper's hand away for not knowing who his own wife was, but they were still very much in love, which is all Avery had wanted to be. And I think she was about to discover that she wasn't alone, anymore.

"What if I could guarantee that he did? That he has for a million human years but that he was too much of a coward to say anything until there was the possibility that she could be taken away from him forever?"

Okay, so this also sounded familiar, and one look at Edward and his sullen face told me he was thinking about my birthday, and how he thought he'd been too late to save me when I jumped off of that cliff.

"Don't think about it," I whispered into his ear. "Just listen."

Avery was smiling now and had returned her eyes upon the emerald green of Christian's. "I'd have to hear it from him directly to believe it."

"Then you will. Avery, since we were first created, I've been disobeying the rules we were given about not falling in love. Because, you see, there's this really great angel who I happen to have fallen madly in love with when I first laid eyes on her gorgeous blue eyes and beautiful blonde hair. Oh, and her wings? By far the most amazing things I've ever seen.. All the other angels are jealous, even if she isn't exactly an angel anymore. And I'm afraid that's my fault. I may have been too late, and I think she got tired of waiting on me. So, now, her home is here, on Earth with humans–" he glanced at the Cullens "–and mythical creatured alike–for the rest of eternity. But I'm hoping I'm not too late, and that she'll let me stay with her. So, Avery, will you let me stay here on Earth with you and love you until the day that we both die?"

At first, she was smiling so big I was sure that her face would stick like that, but then it fell completely, replaced my a frown as tears fell from her face.

"No, Christian, I can't let you do that. You belong in Heaven, not here. You wouldn't be happy."

Edward nudged me, and I silenced him before he could say anything with a harsh glare; we over our problems and getting married. He didn't need to bring them back up. Besides, I wanted to know what Christian was going to say to Avery. This was like watching a live soap-opera.

"I belong wherever you are, Avery. And I'm not going to just go back and leave you here after finally getting the courage to tell you that I love you."

"But–" This time Avery was the one silenced as Christian leaned in to kiss her. And the look that came across her face then was one I knew very well. Christian had dazzled her, making her forget everything she was going to say.

It was now that we all started leaving the living room, choosing instead to relocate to the kitchen to give the two some privacy. Edward was cradling me like a child until we got into the kitchen, where he sat me on the counter. Rosalie was still fuming.

"Are we going to just let them, I don't know, do _that_, now? What about Avery, the physco-demon-girl? Does no one remember her?"

"Of course, Rosalie." Esme's calm voice filled the room. "But things are different now. Avery should be given a second chance to explain herself."

"Why? She's still a demon?"

"And by some people's definitions, so are we," Carlisle said.

Rosalie sighed, realizing that nothing she said was going to change anything. Not until Avery told her side of the story, anyway. The one where she didn't look completely evil like before, that is.

"You know," I spoke softly, "it's not a big surprise that Avery thought she had fallen in love with Edward. He and Christian do look a lot alike. She was trying to replace Christian because she thought he didn't want her, when in reality he was very much in love with her. It's not hard to realize why she did what she did."

All of the Cullens gawked at me as if I had just said something surprisingly shocking.

"Bella," Edward said, "so you, of all people, are willing to give Avery a second chance?""

"Why not," I shrugged as I took Edward's hand in mine. "She gave us one."

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**A/N:** So what did you think? There will probably only be one more chapter, or two depending on the reviews I get and what I think of. But, there's good news! Avery isn't completely evil! She was just sad and taking her pain out on the Cullens. That wasn't completely nice, but not completely evil, either. And now she has Christian, who is going to be Fallen with her so the Cullens and Bella shouldn't have any more problems. With her, at least...

For one more time before this chapter is over, please press the pretty blurple button before you leave and REVIEW!!

**:-)**


	25. I'm sorry! But help me!

Okay, don't hate me for this being totally random and not an update!

The update will come hopefully later today! The chapter just needs to be edited!

But, my friends and I are having a debate and I know this has nothing to do with Twilight, and I will delete this as soon as possible, but I need other people's opinions.

**_Is Tinkerbell a slut?_**

All of my male friends say she is, but most of the girls I askthink she's just a pretty fairie/pixie or whatever. So, please help me out by giving me your opinion. You can even flame me for this being so out there and having nothing to do with Twilight or my story.

So, until later tonight!


	26. Chapter 24

It isn't one of my better chapters, and neither is the next one but I will have it all revised at a later date. I just wanted to get this up because Eclipse comes out tommorrow, and that was the deadline I made for myself. But you can cheer now! One more immediate chapter and then it's over!...or is it? Lol. Read and review to find out!

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**CHAPTER 24**

**BPOV**

We all sat in the kitchen talking for almost an hour before Avery and Christian finally decided to grace us with their presence. Jasper had gotten a good tongue-lashing from Alice, but they had soon made up. Alice also had to yell at all the rest of us for doubting her when she said it was her. But I was quick to tell her that we had a reason to doubt her perfect answer to Rosalie's question; she _did_ have two strikes. For saying that, I was sentenced to a shopping trip in the near future.

In that hour, though, we'd also gotten to talk about the wedding. It was still bizarre, saying that _I _was getting married, but at the same time it felt right. Everyone asked where my ring had gotten to, so Edward and I had to explain that it was way too soon for others to understand why we, two teenagers who had 'just met', where getting married. And neither of us wanted to be responsible for giving Charlie a heart attack. Speaking of Charlie…

"Oh, no! Where does Charlie think I am?"

Carlisle smiled at me and shook his head. "He thinks you're still in the hospital. I planned to keep you there for at least another day to rest before all of this happened, but it seemed as if it didn't really matter. As far as he knows, you're not coming home until tomorrow and was told not to bother visiting or calling unless you called him because you were sleeping, and probably would be for a while."

"Thank goodness. What would have happened if he'd come home today and I was still there, though?"

"I was told to come up with something if that happened," Edward said. "But we were supposed to come over here anyway, so I figured he wouldn't know…And that you could just stay the night again."

I smiled and kissed him on the cheek to show my appreciation. "I'd love to." It was sweet how he'd been, in a way, more shy since the proposal.

This was when the other couple chose to make their entrance. Both Avery and Christian were beaming and holding hands, and I thought of how happy Edward and I had been in the meadow the day we confessed our love.

"Hi, you two," I smiled, causing Avery's smile to fall and her brows to furrow.

"You're talking to me?" she asked.

I nodded, "We all want you to explain. You don't seem like the same person we met days ago right now."

"Oh." Christian nudged her and she stepped forward a bit, glancing at the floor instead of us. "Well, I, um…I'm really sorry about what I did. I decided to get myself thrown out of Heaven soon after I helped Edward and realized the mistake I'd made. The thing about falling in love with Edward was just something I said so that maybe I could trick myself into actually believing I was capable of making a life here. I didn't realize how hard it would be to transition, and it was even harder being away from Christian. He was, _is_," she smiled at him, "my best friend.

"Basically, I went a little crazy. And, again, I'm sorry and I hope that you all will forgive me."

"As do I," Christian stepped forward. "If it weren't for me I don't think any of the trouble your family has had involving Avery would have happened. My blindness was at fault, and I apologize."

It was easy what came next. "You're forgiven."

Even after all the trouble Avery had caused, I really did believe she was sorry this time. She had been without the love of her existence. And although she hadn't been in the catatonic state that I had been in, she clearly wasn't in her right mind without Christian, just as I wasn't without Edward. I understood, to an extent, where she was coming from.

"I am?" Avery asked, just as Rosalie and Alice shouted, "She is?!"

I nodded, "At least by me."

Edward squeezed me hand and I looked up at him from my seat on the counter. He smiled as my eyes connected with his and he leaned down to kiss my forehead before turning to Avery.

"If Bella forgives you, then…I'll try. But you did kidnap my fiancé, so forgive _me_ if it takes time."

Avery's smile grew bigger and she nodded in understanding. "By all means, kidnap Christian if you have to. Just so long as you return him."

"That won't be necessary," Edward said, and I saw him glance at Christian, who nodded. "Thank you for fixing Bella's ankle, though."

"No thanks are needed. It was the least I could do for…you know, taking her."

Esme stepped forward then.. "As long as you promise not to do anything like this, again, you're forgiven by me, as well." Esme could love anyone, so it wasn't surprising that she forgave Avery.

"And me," Carlisle, Jasper, and Emmett said at the same time. I wanted to roll my eyes at how simple boys were to forgive girls. It was ridiculous. Alice and Rosalie, however, remained cold. Never had I seen Alice this mad, and it shocked me how mean she could be when she wanted to be.

"Alice, Rosalie, I owe a more specific apology to the two of you, as well as your husbands. Please no that I only did what I thought I had to. Kissing Emmett and Jasper was just part of my job. I assure you I didn't want to hurt the two of you. You both seem like very nice girls, and since I'm kind of stuck here for...well, eternity, I was wondering if maybe we could start over? You know, be friends?"

Rosalie stayed motionless, but Alice had softened a bit and was looking at Avery cautiously. "Really," Avery assured them, "I swear that if you don't want to forgive me, though, I'll understand. It would mean a lot, though. And I do need help with learning things about...clothing and makeup and whatnot.."

This time Alice melted completely and had already taken Avery's hand in hers, dragging her upstairs. "You really do need help. Your clothes are worse than Bella's, even if they _are_ designer. But you have to do some major groveling if you want me to forgive you completely. The only reason I'm helping you is because I could never turn down someone in need of a makeover, and…"

Alice's voice was lost to my human ears as they disappeared up the stairs and I heard Alice's door slam shut.

"Well, now that's that taken care of, you're coming with us," Emmett announced as he stepped forward to push Christian in the other direction, Jasper following. "We want to know how the hell you tamed that demon. She was fierce as anything before you got her. I was even kind of a little scared of..."

Soon enough, even Carlisle and Esme decided to relocate, thus leaving Edward, Rosalie, and me alone in the kitchen. Which just so happened to be a perfect place for us to be, because not long after we were left alone my stomach decided to growl.

"And that's my cue to leave," Rose grumbled.

"Will she be okay?" I asked once she left. Edward had already moved to the refrigerator and was taking out what looked like leftover pizza from the other day. He unwrapped it and placed two slices on a plate, placing it in the microwave.

"I'm sure she will. Right now, she feels much like she did the first time I met you. Everyone has suddenly forgiven Avery, it seems, and now she has become the center of attention. And, even though she's not human, she's still not a vampire."

The microwave pinged, signaling that the pizza was done and Edward took it out. He set the plate in front of me and blew on it, making all of the steam that was coming from it seconds ago to disappear.

"There you go," he smiled. "It shouldn't be too hot now."

While I mulled over what Edward had said about Rosalie I picked up a slice of the pizza and bit into it. Even Esme's leftovers were delicious. There probably wasn't a dish in the world she couldn't cook.

"She'll come around, though, won't she? Just like she did before all this to me?"

"Possibly. Although I haven't forgiven Avery yet, either. She's still more powerful than any of us know. She isn't exactly safe to be around, Bella."

"And neither are you, Edward. But she had her reasons. And she deserves another chance. Without her I wouldn't be here."

Edward nodded and sighed. "Okay, then. We'll see. But for now, you need to eat."

"Fine." I stuck my tongue out at him before turning my full attention to the food in front of me. "But in my book, 'we'll see' means yes.


	27. Epilogue

This is pure fluff. Really. This has no improtance whatsoever. I just wanted to wrap everything up smoothly, and I got this. Which probably doesn't help wrap things up smoothly, but it wraps it up good enough I guess. Lol. Like I said, I'll have this revised later, but just be glad it's up! I am! Read and review for more info! And I promise I'm not sick. I know this A/N is really short, but I'm just very limited on time right now, so I'll exlplain the chapter later. If you have any questions just ask! Like, for example, will there be a sequel? Read and review to find out!**

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**

**Epilogue**

**BPOV**

A little over a month had passed, and things were looking up. Way up. Rosalie still hadn't forgiven Avery, but everyone else had completely. She wasn't giving any signs of having another mental breakdown any time soon, so hopefully that meant we were in the clear.

Since Avery and Christian had nowhere to go, Esme insisted they stay in the room she had already given Avery as long as they wanted. But the more and more time Esme spent with the two and saw just how in love they were, the more attached she became to them. In fact, she'd already asked them to join the family. They graciously accepted, now making the Cullens' story at school all the more difficult to keep track of.

The story was now that Avery was one of Rosalie and Jasper's relatives, officially a Hale. I think she was maybe their cousin, somehow tied into the story most believed about Esme being Jasper and Rosalie's aunt. Christian, on the other hand, didn't need to attend school. He chose not to, and since he could pass for twenty he decided to instead to say he was simply in love with Avery and had moved to support her during her time of need. But no one would get that story unless they asked because Christian had also decided not to leave the house very frequently. Just in case though, he took Jasper's human name Whitlock.

Hopefully we could keep the charade up until I graduated. Maybe.

At the moment I was fighting off three immortal beings. Since Avery was an angel, she had picked up on the fashion thing, as well as modern language and technology, in no time. Upon learning all this, she had joined the dark side.

So Alice, Avery, and Rosalie—despite her hatred of Avery she was coming to love _me_—were all trying to force me into a dress for the spring dance. Edward has just insisted that we go since I missed it last year. As if that was some great disappoint that I had suffered, or something, when in reality I would much rather attend a funeral than suffer through this. And the worst part is that Edward had already informed me that I would be going to prom both this year and next, just as we had before this all happened.

No matter how hard I complained, Edward always won. Stupid vampire.

Avery, Alice, and Rosalie were going with us as well as the boys, but it didn't make it any better. The only girl at our school who didn't hate me anymore was Angela, who I'd taken the time to get to know better than last time. In fact, she was meeting us with her date at the dance. The Cullens, Edward specifically, were overjoyed that I had managed to make at least one real human friend. When I mentioned Jacob Edward scoffed and I had to hit him in the stomach with my math book, but that was a different story.

"Please don't put me through prom all over again, Alice!" I screeched as she attacked my hair. "This is just a dance, nothing to obsess over. Not like my wedding."

Which, by the way, had already been almost fully planned out by the women of this family. Esme was included in the torture this time. So it, unfortunately, looked like I was going to be changed _after_ the wedding instead of before, which I had been hoping for. I mean, what kind of girl really hopes to spend her honeymoon turning into a vampire? None, especially when the time could be used for much better purposes.

"Hush, Bella," Rosalie smiled. "Just be glad you have a year until your wedding. This is nothing compared to what it's going to be like then. Think of this as level three, and your wedding is on level ten."

"I hate you all," I grumbled.

"No you don't," Avery sang. "You love all the attention."

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Rose glare at Avery, but when she noticed me looking at her she smiled apologetically and turned her attention back to picking something out of my unbelievably larger wardrobe that was now kept at the Cullens.

Edward and I couldn't move in together, of course, on account of Charlie, but he had taken many measures so that when I was with him I felt like I was at home. But I guess you could say I was because as long as he was with me I _was_ home. Edward had gotten a bed for the nights I had "a sleepover with Alice, Avery, and Rose" and had had Alice completely furbish the bathroom that went unused with everything I could ever need in there. In Alice's closet there was an entire section dedicated to me where I had shoes, clothes, belts, and every accessory you could think of to ever have. It was like having my own mall.

"Just hurry up." I hadn't seen Edward all day, and my heart ached from the distance. This day was special to us, the day we had first gone to the meadow, and I thought that we should at least spend this together if not any other. But I never got my way, and Edward said he would be busy planning a surprise for me anyway.

Unfortunately, to a group of immortal women the phrase 'hurry up' means absolutely nothing since they have literally all the time in the world. It's sickening, really, how I have to wait until next summer to have that luxury. But, anyway, two hours later I was ready, and I have to say I looked fantastic.

Alice had done wonders on my hair. What was once the epitome of flat was now fuller and shiny, with half pulled up and teased into an up-do with just two strands that had been curled hanging on either side of my face. Avery had been assigned to makeup and I was actually happy with it. Not too much, but not too little and mostly natural colors. Despite the inessential need for it, she had also added just the smallest amount of blush. So even when I wasn't blushing, it still looked like it. Great.

The dress Rosalie had chosen was beyond words. It was gorgeous, and I was in love with it. It wasn't over the top at all–it wasn't prom, after all–and it wasn't near as over the top as my prom dress, but that's what made me love it so much. It was simple, with an empire waist, the blue skirt flowing freely from the mostly black bust, interrupted only with a red stripe just below my bust-line. Falling just above my knees, it showed off just enough and not too much leg. And I was happy to see that Rosalie had given me a pair of black ballet flats instead of ridiculous heels.

I didn't even want to know how much the dress had cost.

Alice, Avery, and Rosalie were dressed and made up quickly, and then we were ready to go. Alice was wearing something resembling an almost Egyptian type dress that showed a dramatic amount of her skin, much like the dress I saw her wear to prom. Rosalie was in a knee length black and white dress. The black splotches that covered the dress looked like tree limbs, but in a good way. Rosalie was, after all, gorgeous in everything she wore. Avery's dress was almost identical to mine, but made of a different material. The bust looked like a vest, and the skirt was gold.

Anyway, once everyone was ready we all walked downstairs together, where my reaction to Edward was typical. He looked gorgeous in black dress pants and a white button up shirt and I found myself thinking, as always, how lucky I was to have him all to myself.

All thoughts left my head as soon as Edward embraced me in his arms, though. It was like every single time, and I hoped that there would be a million more times to come.

"You look wonderful, Bella," he breathed in my ear. "So, so beautiful." He kissed my cheek and I thought I was going to faint right then and there. "Much bore beautiful than your surprise."

"Edward." I tried to make my voice sound stern, but it was impossible.

"Bella." He was much more successful.

"Fine," I sighed, righting myself from Edward's hold on me. I stuck my hand out. "Hand it over."

He smiled his lovely crooked-smile and then placed a ring box in my hand. I opened it to reveal a simple silver band, with the words _Forever_ scrawled onto it.

"It's a promise ring," Edward explained as he placed it on my finger. "I can't stand to see your hand bare, and since you can't very well wear your engagement ring in public I figured I'd get you a ring that wasn't as blatant."

"Edward, you shouldn't have," I whispered.

"But I had to," he smiled. "I wanted everyone to know that you're mine, and mine forever."

"As I'll always be. And as long as you love me, and I love you, things will be perfect. Forever."

And as Edward leaned into kiss me I became oblivious to any of the other couples around me. And I thanked the Lord for sending Avery to us, because this was by far the best second chance I had ever gotten.


	28. READ NOW!

**Okay, I will warn you right now- the following incledes MINOR ECLIPSE SPOILERS!**

**So if you haven't read that, go do it and then come back and read this.**

**Now, I read Eclipse yesterday and due to that there will be no sequel. I repeat, no sequel. I had planned on their being one, but after I read Eclipse I no longer have any inspiration. Mainly because I hate Bella and portrayed her character so wrong in this fic it's sad. I hate her, and will always hate her, so there's no point in writing a fic where's she's happy for even part of the time. If I write another one, Bella will be even more depressed than she was in New Moon. And everyone will be happy but her. She's a stupid, indecisive, human witch. Jacob and Edward deserve better than her. And she really should just get over herself. If she did, I actually think that Edward and Jacob could be almost-friends. **

**So with that said, there will again be NO SEQUEL. Sorry, and all the other chapters will be soon edited so that they aren't quite as crappy and have less mistakes. Thank you, and I hope you enjoyed reading A Second Chance...**

**even though Bella didn't deserve one.**


	29. Last One

This will be the official last update, I swear! I know that I said my new story would be up in about a week almost a little over a month ago, but I got so caught up with my dinner theater thing, which went terrific btw, that I completely forgot that I was even writing another story! And I deleted all the e-mails from Fanfiction with the reviews and the PMs that had people offering to be my beta, so I hate to ask again, but if anyone's offering...and sorry to all of you who did offer and I forgot about you! I feel awful!

Oh, and I'm still not done editing everything in _this_ story. I'd appreciate help with that, too, but only if you really want to!

So, I just want to one last time thank everyone, and if any of my friends from school are reading this then please don't say anything to me at school, kay? It would embarrass me.

**THE END...I PROMISE! **


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